Do You Remember?
by zacluver73
Summary: Do you remember the one's you love? And the one's that love you? Troy does, but will Gabriella regain her memory after the accident? Totally Troyella. Rated M for sexual refrences and language.
1. Don't you know who I am

**I want to thank everyone who commented on the trailer that I put up on You Tube, I hope that they story lives up to you expectations. If you haven't watched to trailer, I posted the link on my Profile. I worked really hard on it and think that it turned out really good.**

**Well I really don't have much to say today and I know that a lot of you have been waiting for this so I should probably just dive into writing it. I hope you guys enjoy this and much as I like writing it. Please comment! Oh, and I don't have any clue about the medical part in this, it is just what I think would happens so don't yell at me! Lol.**

**3 Zacluver73**

* * *

**Do You Remember? Chapter 1**

_The dark night sky, the crash of the rough waves against the shoreline, the stars brightly shining in the sky above. The sounds of the sirens growing nearer, the red flashing lights can be seen through the trees. My mind was clouding and my vision blurring as the hot tears run freely down my face. My soon to be wife lying limp in my arms. My body shaking as the uncontrollable emotions flood over my body. The sirens growing nearer and nearer. _

_Why did this have to happen to her? She is so young and strong and full of life. This can't be happening, we had plans for the future, this is all my fucking fault! I held her close to my body taking in her intoxicating scent, her silky smooth skin, and the delicate features of her beautiful face._

_The ambulance screeches to a halt, the sirens ringing in my ears as I loose the ability to think clearly. The paramedics run over in slow motion and they reach for her body. I pull her closer to me and feel her heart falter. The sirens getting louder as I run a shaky hand down her blood covered cheek. Please God take me not her! She can do so much more in the world than I can!_

_They reach for her body again but I won't let go, I promised her I wouldn't let go! Her eyes flicker open for a moment and her deep chocolate brown orbs connect with my bright sapphire ones for what seems like a second, then her eyelids mask the beauty that I fell in love with once again. "God Ella… please… I need you baby" more tears spill down my already red face. I leaned down and kissed her soft, full lips as my tears fell onto her face. The sirens are still ringing as loud as they could._

"_Will you turn the fucking sirens off for the love of God!", I screamed and the grabbed for her again._

"_Sir, you have to let her go." They reasoned with me and I shook my head no and looked up at them._

"_I promised her I wouldn't." tears filling my eyes again. They can't take her away from me. She's mine, all mine._

_They ignored my plea and pried my arms away from her. They took her from me. They carried her small figure to a stretcher and laid her on top of it. I stood up and two strong guys struggled to keep me back. I fought with all my might to get to her side. "NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as the strapped her to the stretcher. I was shaking with hysterics as the two guys holding me back wouldn't let me near her. My body kept fighting as I was mentally breaking. They started to raise her up into one of the two awaiting ambulances. "Gabriella!" I screamed and they shut the door. I couldn't stop the flow of tears; they were breaking my heart in half. They took away the love of my life._

"_Sir you have to calm down." They told me and I fell to the ground as the ambulance drove away. I had nothing left to live for if she wasn't here anymore. I am nothing without her. I need her, she makes me better._

_They forced me to stand up and walk over the stretcher. I laid down on it as they strapped the large straps over me chest, waist and knees. I didn't fight back as they lifted me into the second ambulance and locked me in place. They put an oxygen mask over my face but it didn't help. I felt like I couldn't breathe, there was nothing left to live for if she dies._

_Nothing._

_They shot an IV into my arm and put some sort of drug into me. Everything began to look blurry. The blackness was creeping over me. The sirens, the beeping, the clicking of the machines all fading... fading... to nothing._

_Nothing._

* * *

I woke up breathing heavily again, sitting on the uncomfortable hospital chair in Ella's room. I sighed again as I lifted my head from her bed. I guess I had fallen asleep. This is the same nightmare that comes to me every time I fall asleep. It was what happened two nights ago, after I proposed to her.

I was still holding her soft hand. I lifted it up to my face and kissed it softly, my lips lingering on her skin. I placed it back down on the bed beside her and leaned back in the chair and stretched. I ran my hand through my chestnut hair and sighed.

I got released from the hospital two days ago while she was still in a coma. The walls felt like they were closing on me as I sat in silence praying that she wakes up soon. Her parents aren't here yet because they didn't come to Florida with us. I looked down at her left hand but the ring was absent from her finger. I stood up and paced the room back and forth when the doctor walked into the room. I stopped and looked at him.

"Mr. Bolton, how are you feeling?" he asked. He was my doctor too when I was here.

"I'm fine, how is she?" I asked with desperation in my voice. I ran my hand through her beautiful midnight hair and looked back up at the doctor.

"Nothing has changed." He told me and I felt the tears burning my eyes.

"Oh…" I said and sat down and rested my head in my hands. God this is so fucked up!

"But, there is still slight brain activity. That is a very good sign." I looked up at him and smiled half heartedly. I wish she would just wake up already.

"How long does it take for them to wake up?" I asked nervous to what the answer was.

"It can be any length of time. A week to a couple years…" And there goes my heart again, the only whole part I had is now in pieces like the others. "I'll be back to check on her soon…" he said and turned to the door. "Troy, be strong. All we can do is pray." I nodded and he walked out the door. Visiting hours were almost over and I would have to leave soon. I rested my head down on her stomach and let a few tears slip.

Her parents would be here tomorrow and then I wouldn't be quite so alone. Another half hour passed and an announcement was made over the intercom that visiting hours were now over and all relatives and loved ones should make their way to their cars. I stood up and looked over her body, her perfect body. I leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips and ran my hand down her side. God I just want her back. Her gorgeous smile and her shining eyes.

"I love you Ella, please wake up soon." I told her in a whisper and walked out of the room glancing back one last time to see her beautiful figure.

**At the hotel**

I stepped into the burning shower wishing that Ella was here with me. Her favorite thing to do was take showers together. I closed my eyes and let the heat of the water drip down my tense body. I could see her bright smile as she would lean up and kiss me, the way her body fit with mine, her way of knowing how to make me relax. I needed that now. I felt my knuckles go white as I clenched my fists tight. If I would of just paid attention to the road, none of this would've happened.

I would be showering with her right now, she would be taunting me with her irresistible body, and I would be giving her what she wanted. I smashed my hand against the wall in anger and let out an angry groan. My eyes shut tight and tears seeped through, I was shaking again.

After my shower, I walked out of the room in a white towel wrapped around my waist with my hair in my eyes. I shook it out and fell back onto the bed and bounced a little as I did. This is the same bed that we made love to each other three nights ago. I would give anything now just to feel her skin on mine. I got back up and walked over to the closet and pulled out a pair of boxers and black basketball shorts, pulling them on. I went back out to the living area and closed the door to the bedroom. I plopped down onto the couch and decided to sleep here because there were too many emotion bottled in the other room.

I closed my eyes and drifted back to sleep only to have the nightmare return to me once again. After waking up again in a cold sweat, I was done. Let's face it; sleep is never going to come. Even if it did, it would be painful sleep, reliving the nightmare that I wished never happened. I went to the small kitchen area and put on coffee and turned the TV on to ESPN. I watched and watched and watched until the clock read 6 a.m., which meant I could return to the hospital.

I was just about dead, even though I had about 12 cups of coffee. My whole body was dragging, I stood up and it felt like I had lead weights all over my body. I walked slowly to the bathroom and splashed cold water onto my face. I leaned my head down over the sink, with my elbows on the edge of the counter, and hung my head and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

I got dressed in a long sleeve navy blue shirt from Hollister and a pair of light blue distressed jeans and my black All-Stars. I walked down to the lobby and stepped out into the hot Florida weather. I walked the distance to the hospital, which was about a fifteen minute walk and entered the all too familiar lobby of the hospital. I went up to floor 7, and made a left, a right, and another left to get to room 48. I took a deep breathe and entered the still aired room. It was just as plain as I remember it from before.

There were no paintings on the walls, just white with a cheesy border around the top, a small TV in the left-hand corner, and a bed with 2 chairs. There was the small annoying beep that was going off, letting us know that her heart was still beating. I walked up to her and lightly trailed my fingers down her cheek and sighed. God I missed her vibrant smile, I just want her back more than anything in the world.

Around noon, someone knocked lightly on the door. I turned my head around and said, "Come in." in the door came her mom, dad and brother named Adan. I stood up and her mother hurried over to me and engulfed me in a huge hug. I held her tight letting her cry onto my shoulder. She eventually let go and I smiled down at her. She had always liked me since I first met Gabby, and even more when I started to date her. "I'm sorry Mrs. Montez. You don't know how many times I wished it was me not her." I told her in a quiet voice.

"Hush Troy, don't say things like that." She told me. "God has a plan for everything, and a reason for everything he does." I nodded and she walked back over with her husband after giving me a small smile.

Adan came over and gave me a quick man hug, and patted me on the back. We had also become closer since I started dating Ella. And we do a lot together and it makes her happy that we get along so well. "Hey, how ya doing man?" he asked and I shrugged.

"I'm alright right now" I told him holding back the tears, I had to be strong for her mom. If I started to cry, her mom would too and that wouldn't be good.

Then I looked over towards her father, he didn't move from his spot. I expected that. He was never one hundred percent behind mine and Gabriella's relationship and was a little hesitant when I came to them and asked if I could marry their daughter. He had always wanted her to marry a Hispanic guy, in order to stick to their heritage, but then she fell in love with a one hundred percent not Hispanic. I don't know what I am, but my mom is Irish and my dad is Italian I think, I get my tan skin from him.

"Mr. Montez" I said and nodded a little.

He didn't make any motion towards me nor did he answer me. Then, her mom nudged him in the stomach and he replied. "Troy, nice to see you again." He was lying in his socks.

"You too." I smiled a little and looked back to the exotic beauty that was lying on the bed. Adan came over and put his hand across my back and squeezed my shoulder a little.

"You hungry man?" he asked and I shook my head no. I hadn't eaten anything for about two days but still was not hungry. He pulled me away from her body and looked at me. "You look terrible Troy, you have to eat something."

"I'm not hungry." I answered and he looked at me.

"And I don't care, you're coming with me and eating something." I sighed and he pulled me towards the cafeteria. I sat there and starred at the food that was on my try. I poked it with my fork and just looked down. "Troy, I know this is hard for you, but it's hard on all of us. Please just eat something."

I brought a little to my mouth and swallowed it with difficulty. God this is so hard. I took another bite and it wasn't as bad as the first, and for the first time, I felt the hunger rumble through me. I finished what was on the plate and was about to throw it away when Gabriella's mother came running into the cafeteria with tears in her face.

"Troy!" she called out looking for me. She looked around frantically and when she spotted me, she ran over out of breathe. "Troy… Gabriella…" she was gasping for air.

"What about her?" I asked a little nervous.

"She… she…" her tears were filled with tears, whether they were happy or sad tears was unknown to me. I sat on the edge of my seat preparing my heart for the blow. What if they lost her? What if I would never see her beautiful smile or breath-taking eyes again?

"What?" I asked hurrying her. I wanted to know what happened.

"Her eyes opened! She's awake! Troy, go!" I sat there paralyzed for what seemed like an eternity. My mind was running at the speed of light. She was awake, actually awake! I couldn't move. I didn't know where to go.

Adan pushed on my back and I stood up. I hugged her mother so tight I think I cut the circulation off.

"Troy…go!" she said and I let her go, the smile on my face could not be erased. I was grinning from ear to ear as I took off in a full blown sprint towards the room. I pressed the button for the elevator, but it wasn't coming fast enough so I shoved the door to the stairs open and took them like three at a time. I got the seventh floor and ran to her room, number 48. I walked inside, past her father who was talking to the doctor outside of the room. I walked in and saw her eyes dart to me.

"Oh my God Ella!" I said and scooped her up into a bone crushing hug. I let her go and leaned down and kissed her forehead gingerly, not wanting to push her to far right after she woke up. She looked up at me with scarred eyes, confusion written in them.

I ran my hand down her cheek, wondering what she was thinking and why she looked like she didn't know me. I assumed she was just full of different drugs and couldn't think straight so I ignored the feeling that something was wrong. Nothing was going to ruin this day. I smiled at her, but she didn't return it.

"Ella, what is it?" I asked and sat down next to her, still looking down at her. "What? Do you not know who I am?" I asked jokingly and then my heart stopped.

"No…" she shook her head, "…I don't" I could feel the sick feeling in my stomach rise, I felt like I was going to throw up. How could she not know who I am? I was the one who was there for her when things went wrong, I was the one she would talk to until three in the morning, I was the one who she gave her virginity to, I was the one who was going to be hers forever.

"You're joking right?" I asked as my tongue turned to sandpaper.

Her face looked scarred as she looked down to my hand that was on her hip, rubbing light circles with my thumb. "No" she said in a quiet voice as I slowly lifted my hand from her and stood up. I backed up to the wall and balled my fists in anger. I hit them against the wall and cursed under my breath. "Fuck!"

I walked out of the room to be greeted by The doctor and Mr. Montez who were having a discussion about the side affects of the coma.

"…Dizziness, Nausea, and Memory loss." My heart sunk. This can't be happening. Why is everything so fucked up? This wasn't supposed to happen!

"Is that why she doesn't know who I am?" I said fighting the vomit that was threatening to come up at any time.

"I'm afraid so, we're not sure how long this could last or if it will be permanent." And there goes my heart again. Does no one want it to be whole? I leaned my head against the wall and tears escaped my eyes. Her mom walked in the room, and I waited out here, listening to them.

"Mom, who was that guy?" she asked and my eyes close wanting this all to be a bad dream.

"Honey, he's your fiancé." She said and I could imagine the look of confusion on her face at those words.

"But, I don't know him?" she said.

"Honey, you two are inseparable." Her mother states, "You really don't know who he is?" she was trying and I was grateful.

"No…" she answered in a quiet sexy voice. I slid down the wall and let my head fall to rest on my knees.

"Fuck…"

* * *

**A week earlier**

"TROY! Stop it!" she begged as I attacked her side with my fingers. She was gasping for air as I continued my actions while I was straddling over her on the couch. Little did she know, I was going to ask her to marry me this weekend when we went to Florida. It was her birthday and we both just wanted to get away, just the two of us.

"Not a chance Ella!" I said and leaned down and kissed her on her lips.

"We have to… pack!" she managed to force out as I smiled and shook my head.

"Already done babe. I got your lingerie, your bathing suit, your silky black robe, more lingerie, sexy short shorts, even more lingerie, condoms, oh and did I say lingerie?" I smirked and she pushed up on me, but I didn't move. I laughed and she pushed up again and I fell off the couch and landed on my back.

"Oww!" I said and laughed a little. She looked over the edge of the couch and smiled down at me.

"You do know that you have to work for the lingerie don't you?" she asked and stood up at my feet. I propped myself up on my elbows and raised an eyebrow at her.

"What do I have to do?" I asked skeptically. She crossed her arms across her chest and gave me a sexy stare, biting her bottom lip.

"You'll have to wait until we get their lover boy.", she said sexily and turned to walk up the steps. I watched her petite frame make its way up the steps and sighed at how gorgeous she was. I lay back down and thought about what she would make me do, because I would do about anything to get to her lingerie. And to make it worse, she knows that too.

God I want to be with her forever. She just brings a better side of me out. I saw her again at the top of the stairs looking down at me smiling.

"Troy, if you wanna have sex, you're gonna have to hurray. My parents are gonna be here in like 40 minutes." As soon as she said sex, I was on my feet and taking the stairs two at a time. I want it to be like this for the rest of our lives. I got to her and wasn't going to waist any time. I pushed her agaisnt the wall and attacked her soft lips. I puched my body too hers and she smiled against my lips. "I knew you couldn't resist." she said and I smiled again as she wrapped her arms around my neck and brought me in for another electrifying kiss.

**Well, this was the first chapter. I know it was a lot of background and stuff but I liked it. Please comment and tell me what you think of it! Mwa mwa! **

**Peace everyone and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!**

**3 Zacluver73**


	2. Blessings

**I just want to say thanks to all of you that commented o this and favored and all that other stuff too! I really like writing this story and it is like nothing I have ever written before. I hope you guys like it and PLEASE comment. **

**This sort of gives what they were like before the accident. **

**Anyways, here comes the next chapter! :)**

"God Troy!" I moaned as he shoved his hips into mine in the hallway. He smirked against my skin and his hands moved down to my waist and started to unbutton my jeans. We weren't even in the room yet and he was already hard. He pulled the jeans I was wearing down and I stepped out of them.

"I can't wait till Florida." He said and then smiled as his hand went down and grazed my ass. I felt the ache in my core intensify and brought his lips back to mine.

"Why? We can't have sex in the middle of the amusement parks." I said and he smiled again and looped his fingers in the strap of my lace thong. I pulled his hands away and pulled his shirt over his head instead, revealing the defined six-pack and the glowing bronze tone of his skin.

"I know, but that would be so dirty…." He smiled mischievously, "… in a really hott way, I mean fooling around with you in the middle of Expedition Everest or Cinderella's castle." I smacked his chest and giggled. He could make something so wrong feel so right. His hands went back down to my hips and laced again in the thin material.

"How about we confine our sex scenes to the hotel room." I said as he started to tug the panties down. I stopped him again and he looked at me confused. "You forgot my shirt." I whispered in his ear and he shook his head and grabbed the bottom of my shirt. He pulled it off and discarded it on the floor with the rest of our clothes.

"Now are you ready?" he asked placing his hands on my hips yet again. He slipped his fingers in between my thighs and ran them over my space lightly while pressing his body to mine.

"Aren't we going to the bedroom?" I asked and took in a sharp intake of breathe as his fingers pushed a little harder into me. I moaned out as he captured my lips in a sweet kiss.

"No." he stated plainly into my ear and left open mouthed kisses down my neck. My breath was leaving me, my mouth was turning dry and my head was spinning. I gripped onto his shoulders as he pushed harder once again.

"Troy…" I said out of breath and closed my eyes and put my head back. I was on my tip toes and trying to get up higher to relieve some of the pressure that he was causing. I threw my hands against the wall trying to hold onto something so that I wouldn't collapse right here. My legs were shaking and they felt like jello, threatening to give out at any time. "Troy!" I couldn't think straight. "Fuck…fuck...Oh God… Yes…TROY!"

"Relax baby…" he smirked, "…You're shaking." His lips trailed down my neck, over my chest, and down my stomach leaving open mouth kisses the whole way. I looked down at him as he knelt down in front of me. He smiled up at me with a hint of evil brewing in his deep passionate cyan orbs.

"I know I'm shaking, my legs are gonna give out." He laughed again and I gripped the railing to the stairs harder than before trying to steady myself. He smirked up at me and laced his fingers yet again in the material of my underwear. He slowly started to pull them down and I didn't stop him this time.

"Then this is definitely going to be impossible." He kissed my stomach again and I put my head back against the wall and closed my eyes as his lips headed south towards the desired target. I felt my heart start to beat faster in my chest and my breathing hitch in my throat. He was so close.

"Troy, do it… I want you now!" I felt his lips curve into a smile and then I moaned out as his wet, warm tongue ran through my folds. The fire was building and I needed him now, not just his tongue, I want his throbbing member deep inside me. His tongue dipped into me and I moaned even louder than the first time. I tried to talk but nothing came out. "…"

I grabbed his head to stop him from what he was doing so I could talk. I brought him back up standing and he looked down at me confused. "What's wrong?"

"I need you now, not your tongue, your dick deep inside me." I put my arms around his neck and he smiled down at me. He put his hips on mine, placing his hard member between my legs. He pulled out and pushed in, his rough jeans rubbing over my sensitive area. "Troy please… I need you" I was begging and I knew that would get him to do it. He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom.

"I thought there was no bedroom." I said and he laid me down and he unbuckled his belt and then undid his jeans and took them off.

"That was before you were begging me" he said and smiled, lowering his boxer clad body down onto me. He lifted me up a little and unclasped my bra and slid it down over my shoulders slowly.

"Who said I was begging?"

"Gabriella…" he said seriously but then changed to a voice mocking me, "_Troy…I need you! I want your dick deep inside me! Oohhh!" _he smiled and kissed me. I pushed him up and pouted at him.

"I don't sound like that." I said and he shook his head and laughed a little.

"Whatever you want to think babe." He leaned down and kissed me again.

"You're such an ass… Just make it hard" I told him and he smiled.

"Your wish is my command." I reached down and slid his boxers down over his toned legs, and set free his erection. He kissed my lips again and slowly spread my legs apart. He hovered above my entrance and then slowly entered me. I moaned at how big he was, it felt amazing. He slowed for a minute to let me get comfortable, and then slowly eased in further and further.

"Uhhh… Troy!" he smirked again and attacked my lips roughly as he pushed all the way in. "You're so big…It's amazing."

He laughed a little and pulled back out then thrusted in harder, then repeating again and again. He was shaking the bed with every thrust he made.

"Harder… Uhh!" I moaned out and he pushed in harder than before, he was pounding in and out of me and was breathing heavily. I arched my back, loving the feelings he gives me.

"Fuck Ella… You're so tight!" he said and drew out and pushed back in again. I grabbed onto his shoulders and neck and brought him down to kiss me. I whispered in his ear.

"Don't you like it like that?" shivers ran down his body and he pushed even harder than before, this time hitting my G spot perfectly.

"Uhhhh… Again!" he was getting tired but I was so close and so was he. He pushed in again and hit it again. "I'm so close baby, again…Uhhh!"

He groaned as my walls tightened around him. He pushed in harder than any other time, and hit my spot again, causing the awaiting orgasm to flood through my body. I dragged my nails across his back, leaving long red scratches. I screamed as his juice filled me and his body collapsed on mine, panting and sticky with sweat.

He was still inside of me as we lay catching our breath. His head was resting oh my chest right below my chin, and his breathing was slowing down. I put my hands up on his cheek and ran it through his hair lovingly. He closed his eyes and pushed himself up, pulling out slowly, then collapsing next to me. "God you wear me out Ella." He said in a tired voice and pulled my body to his. I giggled.

"Well you're gonna have to wake up cause my parents will be here in 6 minutes." I stated and he groaned.

"Tell them I died", he whined and nuzzled his face into my neck. I giggled a little more and then sat up. He looked at me confused.

"How about you get a shower, it will wake you up." He rolled over and sat on the end of the bed. I knelt up behind him, and ran my hands over his shoulders and down his chest, then kissed him on the cheek. "I love you… That was so amazing; I'm going to have to repay you when my parents leave." I whispered into his ear and a smiled crept onto his lips. He turned to face me and then pecked me on the lips.

"Red with the little bows?" He asked and I smiled.

"We'll see… or maybe I'll try something new." He smiled again and kissed me again. He stood up and I pulled the sheet up to cover my naked body.

He was about to go into the bathroom when he turned around, "I love you too." I smiled.

I heard the water turn on and I got up and went to the closet and pulled on the fluffy robe, the one Troy doesn't like because it covers me up, and tied it around my waist. He likes the short, silky, black one better. I walked back into the room and pulled my hair into a loose bun and then the door bell rang. They were exactly on time as usual. I walked towards the stairs, stopping to throw the discarded clothes into the bedroom, hen walking down to the door. I opened it and my mom and dad were standing there.

"Hola Mamá, Hola Papá." I said. Yes I speak fluent Spanish and so do my parents and my brother. But, if I was given the choice, I would prefer to talk in English.

"Gabriella!" my said and hugged me. "Donde está Troy?" she asked meaning where is he.

"He's in the shower" I said and led them into the kitchen. I sat at the counter and listened to the water running upstairs wishing that I was there with him. We talked for a while when suddenly the water stopped.

I stood up, "Troy's done, I'm gonna go get one. He'll be down after he gets dressed." I said and left them in the kitchen and went up to the room and opened the door to the bathroom. "I really wanted to be in here with you" he turned around and smiled. He was only wearing a white towel wrapped around his waist.

"I wish you were there too." He said and leaned down and kissed me.

"Well my parents are downstairs so after you change, go talk to them or something." He groaned and turned back to the counter. I turned the water on and then dropped the robe and stepped in. "Play nice baby." I said and I smiled.

**Troy's POV**

I was going to have to play extremely nice because when I walk down those steps, I was going to ask for her parents blessing to marry Gabi. I was almost positive that her mom would be thrilled, but her dad is hard to read. He keeps to himself and sometimes I catch him looking at me with anger in his eyes. I don't remember doing anything to him. And he never once walked in on me and Ella having sex. That would of definitely gotten my head chopped off. There is no way to get on his good side, I just wish there was something that I could do to make him like me.

I pulled in my jeans and white T-shirt and pulled the ring out of its hiding place. I looked at it and smiled, waiting for it to rest on her finger; it would be a perfect fit. It had a silver band, with diamonds imbedded into it, and a large pink diamond in the middle. (The picture is on my page, under DYR Ch.2) I smiled and closed the black box and shoved it into my pocket, then descended the steps to the kitchen. "Hey Mr. and Mrs. Montez." I greeted them.

Her mom turned around and had a smile on her face. She came over and hugged me. "Troy, you look good. How is everything?" she asked and I took a seat in the stool next to her at the counter.

"Good, really good. We are both really excited for Florida." I said and brushed over my pocket where to ring was, it felt like there was a lead weight there. I glanced over at her dad who was reading the paper that was on the counter. I sighed, wanting him to approve of me. But he wasn't going to stop me from getting what I want.

"That's nice, what are you doing for her birthday?" she asked and I felt the butterflies creep into my stomach. The water was still running upstairs. It was now or never. I had to do this.

"Well, I kinda want to talk to you about that…" I said rubbing the back of my neck nervously.

"What is it?" her mother asked with what looked like a glint of hope in her eyes. That gave me the courage that I needed. Her father suddenly tuned into the conversation and set the paper down. I felt his deep eyes burn holes into the side of my face as I avoided his gaze. I reached down in to my pocket and pulled out the small black box which held the ring, and set it in front of her mom. She took the box in her hands and opened it slowly, revealing the small ring. Her face broke out into a huge smile and she showed it to her husband.

"I wanted to ask for your blessing, so that I can marry your daughter." I let it all out on the table. I sat nervously awaiting their answer.

Her mother was practically bouncing up and down in her chair, but her father was wide eyed at the ring. "I've wanted you two to get married since the first moment I saw you together!" her mother let out and laughed. "I give you my blessing Troy, Yes… You can marry her!" she said. I smiled and we both turned to her father. He was speechless. "Carlos, tell him yes…" she said to her husband.

"Troy, living room… now…" he got up and walked into the other room. I couldn't move, he was going to murder me. I was too young to die.

"Go Troy, he'll come around." Her mother said and urged me to go talk to him. I stood up slowly and walked into my death sentence.

He was standing looking at a picture on the end table of me kissing her cheek and her smiling brightly. I hadn't made any noise but he knew that I was here. "Do you really love her?" he asked me and I was taken back. No shit Sherlock, of course I love her.

"Yes sir, I do. So much." I said and he sighed. I had no idea where this was going. He turned around and looked at me with a broken stare.

"I knew this day would come, I saw it from the very beginning." He said and took a step towards me.

"I would do anything for her, I can't live without her. She makes me a better person, and I'm not giving up." I said defended myself even though he didn't say no yet.

"I can see that, Troy…" he started but I cut him off.

"Then WHY do you hate me so much?" I asked and he sighed and sat down on the couch. I sat across from him awaiting the answer.

"I don't hate you Troy…" he said, "I can see how much she loves you by the way she looks at you, and talks about you, and acts around you. It's just that…" he stopped again and gathered his thoughts. "You are the only damn person that can take her away from me. She never had that little sparkle in her eye when someone else's name was mentioned…"

I smiled at what he was saying, and finally got the feeling that he didn't absolutely hate me.

"I want you to promise me something Troy…" he said and I looked at him in the eyes, the same as Gabi's but a lot colder. Hers are warm and inviting, unlike his.

"Anything…" I said hoping that it would earn a yes from him.

"You have to protect her; she's my little girl… If anything happens to her, or you break her heart, I will hunt you down." He said in a serious tone.

"Definitely, nothing will happen to her, I promise. And I could never break her heart." I said and he gave a slight smile.

"Then… I give you my permission to take my daughter's hand in marriage." A smile broke out on my face and her mother came into the room.

"My daughters getting married, my daughters getting married!" she was singing and then I heard the water turn off upstairs.

"She's done in the shower, and I want it to be a surprise, so don't mention it." I said and they both nodded, though her mom was still a little too excited. I turned on the TV to basketball and her father watched the game.

About 15 minutes later, she walked down in a short grey dress that hit about mid-thigh and had a little orange design across the chest. Her hair was in curls and cascading down her shoulders. She came in front of me and sat down on my lap. Placed my arm around her lower back and rested my hand on her hip. She leaned down and kissed me quickly.

"Hey guys, what did I miss?" she asked in a bubbly way as she put her arm around my neck and leaned against my chest. We all looked at each other and her mom was grinning widely.

"Nothing honey, just stupid basketball." Her mother said and smiled, winking at me.

Gabi looked down at me and looked confused. I just shook my head and smiled. She scooted off my lap and sat next to me. She interlocked our fingers and rested our hands in my lap. I put my other arm around her and let her get comfortable. Her father looked at us and for the first time, there was a smile on his lips.

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for the late update… but Christmas and New Years is a really busy time for me. I'm gonna start to work on the next **_Next To Nothing_** chappy but I'm not sure when it will be up. Please review guys. **

**Xoxo Zacluver73**


	3. My Everything

**Hey everyone, I really don't have much to say at this point in the story… and I'm sorry for the late update but I do have other things to do including school… sports… family stuff… and whole bunch of other crap that I don't want to but have to do.**

**I want to thanks you for sticking with me and continuing to read what I write. It makes me happy that someone actually wants to read what I have to write. Thanks again!!!**

**Anyway, back to the chapter…**

* * *

Today was the day, well… not _THE_ day that I'm going to propose to her, but the day that we were leaving for Florida. I've been packed for like three days already and she waited until the last minute once again. I just lay on the bed smirking, and watched as she sped from the closet to her bag, then back again usually involving a sigh or a whine. But hey, she's my girl and I wouldn't give her up for anything.

"Troy, get up and help me!" she whined and stood at the foot of the bed and set her hands on the subtle curve of her hips. I just looked at her and smiled, shaking my head in disapproval, a sly smirk evident on my lips.

"We've known about this for like three weeks and still you don't have your bag packed." I said and sat up, scooting back and leaning against the head board.

"But, I'm a girl… I need more stuff." She tried and I crossed my arms over my chest and crossed my ankles. She does this every single time that we go somewhere. She stands there and begs, I refuse, she promises something sexual, and I get sucked into packing with her. It sucks, but hey, I still get a reward for my hard work. I smiled thinking of last year when we went to New York to see Wicked on Broadway for her Birthday. It was a good show, but my favorite part was after in the hotel room.

"Then you should have started earlier." I argued and she let out an angry Umph. I just sat there and smiled, waiting for the rest of the familiar scene to play out.

She sighed in defeat and crawled up onto the bed and straddled over my legs and pushed her hips up against my stomach while looking down into my eyes. I placed my hands on the back of her thighs and smiled waiting for her promise. "Baby... I will do anything you want…" she kissed my lips, "…But you have to help me pack." She trailed her lips to right below my ear and I could feel her hot breathe on my skin. "…And I mean anything." She whispered and then pushed her hips into my pulsating organ. I saw the twinkle in her eye and I sighed in defeat now. Her soft lips broke into a smile and she crawled off of me. "That's my boy." She laughed and got up.

"Not fair, you know I can't say no to that." I said standing up from the bed unwillingly, but knowing that I would get my reward soon enough. She put me right to work, as she would pull out clothes, I would fold them and put them in the suitcase, only for her to come fix it because it wasn't neat enough. This went on for about another hour and a half until she was finally done. She crash landed onto the bed and then I followed right next to her, pulling her small frame to me.

"Thanks…" she said tiredly and placed a small kiss onto my covered chest. We were on the redeye flight, and it was going to be hard to stay awake until then. I let go of her reluctantly and reached back to get my phone, and set the alarm on it for 11:00 pm. We had to leave the house at midnight in order to make the plane, and I really didn't want to miss this trip so that I can call her my fiancé. God that sounds so good. I climbed over her and pressed my chest up against her back so that our bodies were lined up, then pulled the soft blanket over top of us.

"You're welcome" I whispered and pressed a kiss into her black locks. We fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

"God I hate lines!..." Troy complained and leaned up against the railing. It was hot in Florida, really hot, like 97 degrees hot. I looked over Troy's built frame as he glanced to the right to see how much longer we have until the front of the line. His bronze skin was becoming even darker as we sat out in the relentless sun, and there were tiny droplets of sweat trickling down his face, causing the skin to glisten. He was wearing black basketball shorts and had his red, black, and white boxers sticking out. Also, he had on a black wife beater that showed every singles muscle on him including his hard pectorals, his deep cut six-pack, and his formed biceps. "And why is it so fucking hot?" he complained again and I laughed a little.

"Troy, there are kids standing like two feet beside you, watch your mouth." I fake scolded him and he shoot me a death glare, but I just laughed. He grabbed my waist and pulled me to him, wrapping his strong arms around my lower waist and holding me between his legs. He puts his lips right under my ear.

"Yes mommy." He said sarcastically and still held me against his strong torso. I smiled and kissed his lips softly.

"Maybe you're so hot because you decided to wear all black…" I suggested and he laughed and pushed up off the railing so he was now standing up. He grabbed my hand and moved forward with the now moving line.

"Well not all of us can look good in purple Ella." He commented and I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing a pair of short jean shorts, that you could see the pockets sticking out at the bottom, and a tight purple tank top, along with black flip flops and my hair back in a ponytail.

"I bet you would look good in purple Troy…" I joked and nudged him on the side. He just smiled and kissed my temple.

"Yes!" he said and pulled me forward, we were finally in front of the line. I giggled as he got excited like a five year old on Christmas morning, well he still does that on Christmas morning, but that's beside the point. The gate opened and he rushed in and got in the front row, with me following behind him, taking the seat next to him. "Finally!" he said and I giggled.

_Later that Night_

"I just can't wait until the water park tomorrow; I want to do a body slide so bad." He said as I was about to get into the shower.

"I don't, they hurt." I proclaimed and dropped my shorts to the ground and pulled my tank top over my head. That left me standing there in only my bright pink bra and underwear. His eyes were glued to the now revealed skin and a sly smirk appeared on his lips, but then he looked away pained, like he was having an internal war with himself. I frowned a little before turning around and looking at myself in the mirror. I had never seen him look away from my body disgusted before, I felt my stomach drop, what if he finds me repulsive now? I don't think I changed.

I didn't notice him behind me until his strong hands found there way onto my sides and slithered across my almost naked body, as if needing to feel every part on me. I reached up and let down my hair and he closed his eyes and buried his face in it, inhaling the scent of it.

"God I love you." This put a smile on my face again and he pressed a tender kiss against my shoulder.

"Wanna get a shower?" I asked and he smiled. Okay, maybe something else was up, usually he would have already ripped off my clothes and had me in the shower, but not this time. He was thinking about something, and it kind of made him almost nervous.

"Yeah I want to, but we have dinner reservations and we'll never make it if we get one together." He reluctantly let me go and pulled me in for an earth shattering kiss before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

"What the hell is up with him?"

* * *

That was probably the hardest thing that I have ever had to do, turn down a steamy shower with the love of my life. I heard the water turn on and laid back on the bed taking a deep breathe of refreshing oxygen. This is going to be the most nerve racking night of my life. What if she turns me down? What if she doesn't love me enough to want to spend the rest of her life with me? I sighed and picked up my phone and called Chad, he would know what to do. It started to ring.

"…So are you Mr. Troy Gabriella Bolton yet?" was the first thing that he said when he answered. I liked the sound of that.

"No, but I feel like I'm gonna puke." I said and he laughed. "Dude… it's not funny!"

"Troy, my man, relax… she's gonna say yes." He said and then I could almost see him smile evilly, "Well it's going to be more like… _OMG! Yes! Yes! Yes!..._ and then she will jump up and down and kiss you, then you'll go back to the hotel and have passionate sex all night with your _fiancé_." He explained.

"Chad!" I said angrily. He is such an ass.

"What man, that's what's gonna go down?" he chuckled, "Well Tay's coming over so I have to go Troy, but just relax."

"I'll try…" I said and he hung up. Relax, yeah it sounds easy enough, then why the hell can't I do it! I fell back onto the large bed with a white comforter and many pillows. One little thing, that's all I have to do… relax.

The water turned off it the bathroom and I just lay there not able to move, nerves taking over my body. The door opened and my eyes grew to the size of headlights. She was moving in slow motion and it was like everything around her turned to black and there was a spotlight on her, and only her. She was looking at the ground as she exited the bathroom. She had a white towel wrapped around her small frame that was just long enough to barely cover her. Her skin was radiating with beauty, her smooth perfectly shaped legs were taking one slow step at a time. The towel was gathered right on the swell of her perfect chest. Her midnight hair was jet black from being wet, and was in tight ringlets. The water from her hair was running down the skin of her chest, and disappearing into the towel. I looked up at her eyes that were still staring at the floor, but at that exact second, her eyelashes slowly moved upward and her chin lifted up and her powerful gaze sent bombs of passion into my cerulean ones. I couldn't even find words as my mouth was to dry to say anything, and I realized that I wasn't breathing and gasped for air. I wanted to fall to me knees before her and beg her to have sex with me, as if I wasn't worthy to be in her presence.

"Troy" her angelic voice sang while a smile appeared onto her plump lips.

I snapped out of my trance as everything came back to normal. "I… you… fuck…" was all I could spit out. She giggled and flashed her passionate eyes at me again, knocking the wind out of me.

"Troy, you need to shower." She said and bent over so I could see her cleavage even more. Yeah I need a shower, but a cold one because my little friend is getting a little too excited.

I stood up and went over to her, forcing her against the wall and pushing my body to hers, placing my throbbing member between her legs and whispering in her ear. "Why do you have to tempt me, you know I have no self control when it comes to you." I said into her ear as her body shook slightly in a fit of giggles. I took her lower lip in mine and sucked a little as she took my top one. I dug my hand into her hair and trailed open mouth kisses down her jaw and onto her neck. "Fuck Ella, you taste so good."

Giggles overtook her again and I continued to attack her neck. "Troy… uhhh" she moaned out as I found her spot exactly. I started to rub my member against her exposed area and that earned more moans from her mouth. She finally got the strength and pushed me away from her, her chest still heaving. "Shower…"

"Fine…" I said and walked past her, "We'll finish that later." She giggled as I got into the shower and let the cool water calm me down.

* * *

I walked out of the bathroom and she was wearing a multicolored strapless dress that fit her perfectly (pic on profile), and a pair of turquoise heels with the pointed toes. And her hair was down and it's loose curls. She looked absolutely beautiful. I threw on a pair of dark denim jeans and a bright blue t-shirt and ruffled my hair in the towel, attempting to dry it.

"Ready?" I asked and placed a kiss on her shiny, plump lips; tasting her lipgloss. She smiled.

"Yep." And she stood up and we turned out the lights and walked out of the room, took the elevator to the lobby, and out into the warm night. She never really wanted a fancy proposal, or a big deal about it, but I was making a big deal about it. I mean if she is going to be my wife, she deserves the best from me. We weren't going to an extravagant restaurant or anything, but I had a whole production for the proposal, and she was going to like it.

_After dinner_

"Oh my god Troy, that place was so good." She said happily and had a spring in her step, which was a good sign. The subtle nerves that had been there since before we left the hotel room were now all building up in the pit of my stomach and I need to relax, and stay calm. She would know if something was up. I placed my arm around her lower back and rested my hand on her hip as we continued walking.

"Uh huh." I said and ran my fingers over the silk fabric of her dress slowly. She looked over at me and had a little frown on her face. I was going to act like I had something on my mind, which I did, so she wouldn't even consider that I was going to ask her to marry me."

"Troy… What's wrong baby?" she asked and stopped walking, then she placed her small hand on my cheek and ran her thumb over my lips slowly. I was biting the inside of my mouth to stop myself from smiling. "…Troy?..." she asked softly and made me look at her. Perfect, I had complete control now.

"Nothing…" I said and pulled her in for a hug, inhaling her intoxicating scent again.

"Troy, don't lie to me…" she rebutted and placed a hand on either cheek and bore right into my eyes. "Tell me." It would be so easy…_Marry Me._ Two little words, that's all I needed.

"I'm not, I promise, I'm fine." I smiled a little and kissed her. "Can we just walk for a while?" I asked. She better say yes or the whole thing is going to blow up in my face.

"Yeah." She smiled and laced our fingers together and started walking. Perfect. I was getting a little excited now, and couldn't wait until I could call her my fiancé. "Where are we walking too?"

"I don't know, I just wanna walk and not think about anything… well anything but you." I smiled as she did too. But I knew exactly where I was going. I had to kill about 20 minutes because it was still the day before her birthday, and I was proposing on her birthday. We walked around for about fifteen minutes when we passed a large park with trees and flowers and everything, also known as the place I was heading for.

"Troy, let's walk through there!" her voice matched the excited expression on her face. I only had one word in mind, Halleluiah. This was going to be easier than I thought. I smiled and nodded as we turned off the sidewalk and went into the extravagant garden. I headed down one of the winding paths at a slow place. "This is really romantic…" She said and leaned her head on my shoulder. "…and beautiful."

"No Gabi, that's you." I said cheekily and she smiled at me and hit my arm softly. I kissed her lips. "I love you baby." I said and she giggled again.

"That's like the millionth time you told me that today." She said and started swinging our arms back and forth a little.

"So, is that such a bad thing? Why can't I tell you that I love you?" I asked and kept moving towards my destination.

"No it's not, I love you too…" she said and smiled more.

"Troy! Look! Do you have a penny?" she said practically jumping up and down. I laughed a little and pulled out my wallet from my back pocket and pulled out a penny and gave it to her. She practically ran to the fountain and stood with her back facing it and shut her eyes. This was perfect; I didn't even have to talk her into making a wish. She held the penny in both hands and I'm guessing made her wish. She smiled and threw the penny over her shoulder and into the water. I smiled and walked over to her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"What did you wish for?" I asked hoping that she would tell me. She smiled and shook her head no.

"I can't tell you, because then it won't come true." She said slyly and placed her arms on my shoulders.

"Pwetty pwease?" I asked and she smiled again.

"No Troy, I really want this one to come true, so I can't tell you." I let go of her and walked over to the fountain and smiled at what I saw.

"Ella, come here for a minute." I said and bit my lip again to stop myself from smiling. She came over and stood beside me.

"What?" she asked and pointed down into the fountain.

"What's that?" I asked and she looked down in too and her eyes grew confused. She reached over the side of the fountain and pulled out a floating object that had a little box and a note on it. I took the box and smiled as she turned around and opened the note. I knelt down on one knee behind her and waited for her to read the message that said _Turn Around_. With in three seconds, she turned around slowly and looked down at me on one knee holding a box with the pink and white ring and her jaw dropped to the ground and her eyes grew wide. "Ella, without you, I would be nothing. I used to be a complete idiot and made every single stupid mistake that anyone could ever make. But you came to me like a gift from God and pulled me back to reality. You made me pick up my act and get myself back together. Now I'm actually doing something with my life, and that's all thanks to you. I want to be able to hold you, to be with you, and love you for the rest of my life. I want to have kids with you and watch them grow up together; I want to have a life with you and no one else. Gabriella Michelle Montez... Will you marry me?"

There it was, I put everything out on the table and I looked up right into her eyes. She was crying, but smiling at the same time. My stomach was flipping as the seconds ticked by like hours. "Oh My God…" she said and smiled brighter. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I want to marry you!" she practically screamed as she held out her left hand and I slid the ring onto her finger, it was a perfect fit. As soon as I stood up, she was in my arms and kissing every part of me that she could get her lips on. I laughed and picked her up and swung her around. My _fiancé!_ God that sounds so good.

I set her down and reached into my back pocket and pulled out my phone and glanced at the time. It was 12:07.

Her birthday…

I kissed her neck right below her ear and whispered, "Happy Birthday Mrs. Troy Bolton." I said and she jumped again and kissed me fully on the lips.

"That sounds perfect to me." She said and hugged me again. "And you know what?" she said sexily in a low tone.

"Hmm?" I mumbled against her skin.

"My wish came true; I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." She looked up into my eyes and smiled.

"I'm glad I could help."

"Me too... but right now I really want to go celebrate." She said and took a step backwards and bit her bottom lip sexily, begging for me to follow her. "Let's go"

"Yes Mrs. Bolton" I said and took her hand and started to walk back to the hotel with her by my side. I can't believe she will be with me for the rest of my life. My God sent angel, my wife, my love…

My Everything...

* * *

**There you go, I don't think this turned out how I wanted it but I know I haven't updated in a while so I'm just gonna leave it this way. This is about attempt number 4 and I don't think it's ever gonna be 100%what I want it to be. But I hope you guys still like it. :) Oh and this is still before the accident in case you guys didn't know that.**

**The link to the picture of Gabriella's dress is on my profile.**


	4. Before the Storm

**Hey everyone, I really don't have a lot to say but thanks to those who take the time to read and review! I want to wish everyone a happy Marti Gras! Woo! I would so love to put a picture of Zac in Marti Gras beads on my page if there was one, but we can't always get what we want.**

**I know I haven't updated in forever, but hopefully the next ones will be out sooner that this one… but I'm not promising anything. I have a lot to do in the next couple weeks so time to sit and type will be scarce. Luv all of you guys!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

He woke up tiredly, looking down at the exotic goddess lying next to him with her arm out stretched across his bare waist. He was smiling from ear to ear, remembering the events of the previous night. The ring was still glistening on her finger as she stirred a little in her deep slumber. They must have gone at it four or more times last night, reaching draining orgasms each and every time. His muscles were sore from head to toe, but it resulted in the best night's sleep he had in a long time.

He subconsciously ran his fingers through her midnight hair as he closed his eyes blissfully, fully content in this moment. His hand continued this action as he inhaled deeply, taking in everything. He hadn't noticed that Gabriella was up until he felt her soft, full lips connect with his. A genuine smile crept onto his lips as they broke apart,

but their lips still millimeters away from each others. His eyes opened slowly, blue meeting brown, and his smile broke out even more. "Morning…" she whispered as if she spoke any louder, then the room would blow up or something.

"Morning…" he returned in the same quiet tone that she spoke in. "Happy Birthday baby." He whispered again, while trailing his fingers up her back and lacing his hand in her hair at the base of her neck. He pulled her back down to his lips and gently connected them again. "Did you have fun?" he smirked, but kept his tranquil tone.

"Hell yes, that sex was amazing Troy." She responded and brought her lips down to his ear and whispered softly while grazing his ear. "All thanks to my fiancé."

"Tell me about it… my muscles are aching." He responded and gently and lightly ran his hand back down her back, resting on the small of her back. She smiled up at him and then lowered her head and kissed his chest tenderly. His eyes rolled back in his head even at this small gesture. "Do… Do you still wan… wanna go to the… the water park?" he struggled as she placed more affectionate kisses on his chest.

"Uh huh." She mumbled against his skin and straddled over his waist, still lightly dusting his golden chest with clement kisses.

"Then we should…" he trailed off and moaned as her fingers circled around his pectorials and then slowly making there way south down his abs. She was trying to kill him, legitimately trying to kill him. Her lips found their way to his ear again and softly grabbed his earlobe between them.

"We should what?" she asked while smiling seductively at her husband to be. Why was she doing this to him? Had he not given her enough last night? Was she tired of what he could give her? All the questions were racing through his mind at warp speed as she continued to make him hard.

"Uhh… go before it gets…Uhh… crowded." He struggled to force it out as she giggled above him. He wanted to flip her and remove himself from this torture, sure it was amazing torture, but he needed to calm down if they were going anywhere. She pressed her lips against his one more time and sat up on his lap, her legs still straddling his waist. He looked up at her and sat up too. "God you're gorgeous…"

She giggled her sweet honey laugh and rested her arms on his shoulders. "Thanks, I think I'm gonna go get changed." She said to him and connected their lips once more, then wrapped the sheet around her frame and stood up. She walked over to the suitcases and pulled out a dark green bikini that had the words 'Rock and Roll' written on it in white. He stood up too and pulled on the boxers that were on the floor, forgotten when they got to the room last night. He walked over to the suitcases also and pulled out a black and white checkered one and placed a small kiss on the back of her bare shoulder before going into the bathroom. She smiled and dropped the sheet and pulled on the swimsuit. "What are we doing tonight?" she called through the door.

He smirked reflexively as a smile crept over his lips. "Well, we could have some more fun." He heard her laugh gently which caused him to smile more.

"I can't even feel my legs, what makes you think I can do that two nights in a row?" she responded as he opened the bathroom door. He leaned his strong shoulder against the door frame and crossed his arms; a smirk was evident on his flawless face as an eyebrow rose up. A laugh came up from her stomach again as her thin body laid back onto the pillow-y white bed.

"You mean you wouldn't do that for me again?" he said and pushed off the wall with his shoulder and walked towards her, placing a hand on either side of her bikini clad body. Giggles were erupting from her throat as he crawled up on top of her. "What if I said please? What if I begged?" he said in a low voice and lowered his lips inches above hers and stopped and bore into her deep auburn eyes. "Or… I could just tie your hands up and force you." a devilish smile played on his lips as she felt a wave of tingles flood through her body and without a second thought, her lips crashed up onto his. Seconds turned into minutes, which seemed like hours. A heated and passionate kiss was forming as their bodies craved for each other; all signs of pain or discomfort were forgotten in a moment.

"Troy…" she whispered out of breath as he lightly kissed her neck. "Tonight…" he lifted his head and smiled down at her and brought their lips together one last time before getting up. He threw on a grey wife beater while she pulled on shorts and a white tank top. They left the room together hand in hand and walked down to the car that they rented.

* * *

"God this sun feels amazing." She exclaimed as Troy came back and sat next to her on the white lounge sun chair. He shook his wet hair over her dark skin and she squealed, as his lips formed a smile. "Troy!" she sat up and lifted her sunglasses.

"Come play with me… I'm bored." He said and placed his hands on her waist. She was trying to get as tan as she could before they left to go back home.

"Baby, I'm trying to get a tan before we leave." She said and laid back down on the chair, once again closing her eyes and pacing the sunglasses back on. But little did she know, he was not going to take no for an answer.

"Ella, are you serious? You are naturally tan. You don't have to lay out here." He said and trailed his finger over his fiancée's stomach lightly. "Please?" he asked and continued drawing over her skin. If she refused again, he would have to take matters into his own hands.

"Just ten more minutes." she said and flipped onto her stomach, taking a deep breath and relaxing her muscles. "Then I'll go swimming with you."

"That's not gonna work out for me sweetie." He said and stood up beside her. He leaned down and grabbed her sides and pulled her up to his chest, and then grabbed behind her knees and picked her up bridal style, resulting in half scream half laugh from her. He walked over to the wave pool and started to make his way in towards the deep.

"Troy Alexander Bolton! Put me down!" she laughed and squirmed in his arms. He smiled and then set her feet down in the water, but still grasping her waist. She smiled and then turned and started to run back to where her chair was. He smiled and then caught up to her quickly and grabbed her waist from behind, then turned her and threw her up over her shoulder, continuing into the deep end. "TROY!"

"I don't think so Brie… I can't trust you anymore." He said as her hands hit his back playfully, trying to get him to put her down. She finally gave up and just smacked his butt really hard with an 'humph'. "Now that's going to cost you." Before she knew in, she was being dropped into the water and pulled under. She came up a few seconds later with a pout on her lips, the water glistening over her olive skin.

"I'm going to kill you Troy." She said and crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him.

"You can't do that babe, I'm going to be your husband." He smiled and grabbed her waist softly, pulling her to him. She didn't look him in the eye, finding in easier to look at the other people around her than him, but she had a plan for payback. He gently moved her chin so she was looking at him and leaned his forehead against hers. "Gabriella, you can't be mad at me for getting you wet." He smiles at the double meaning behind those words. But she shakes her head and then places her hands on his shoulders and pushes him down under the water too, and laughs loudly as he comes back up, spitting water out of his mouth.

"Two can play at that game?" Troy said seductively and pulled her back under the water with him. They opened their eyes under the water and looked into each others eyes. Both of them broke out into a smile and then shot back out of the silencing water, immediately connecting their lips in a kiss. "God I love you Brie."

"Troy, promise we'll be together forever." She said and looked up into his bright cerulean eyes, while his fingers doodled invisible designs on the small of her back. He smiled down at her, knowing that she didn't need reassurance, but just wanted to hear it anyways.

"I promise, whatever life throws at us, we'll get through it." Her smile grew twenty times bigger as she leaned up and planted her lips on his. But, neither of them could have predicted the events of that evening. The little promise that they had just exchanged was going to be pushed to the limit in a matter of hours. All that they thought was certain was going to come crumbling down around them.

"I love you Wildcat." She said when they broke apart.

"Do you love me enough to go on a body slide with me?" he asked skeptically and smiled a little, hoping that she would.

"Umm…" she said and looked into his eyes. His fingers were unconsciously playing with the strings of her bikini in the back. "If you don't take my top off in the middle of the wave pool I guess I could." He smiled at her and grabbed her hand and started to walk out of the pool and towards the biggest body slide in the whole park. "Whoa. I said body slide, not death sentence." She stopped and he turned around and smiled.

"It will be fun." He told her and pulled her forward, she continued apprehensively, knowing that Troy wouldn't let anything bad happen to her.

* * *

"Why are you getting dressed up?" he asked while pulling on his grey Hollister long sleeve tee that completed his outfit. He had on a pair of dark blue jeans and his black Converse All Stars. He would admit that she looked good in anything that she wore, but he wondered why she was going to wear a dress when he told her specifically that it was casual.

A small smile crept over her lips as she pulled on the light purple short dress that stopped in the middle of her defined thighs, and then a pair of white high heels that showed off her tan skin beautifully. "I don't know, I just like dressing up and looking nice. You wouldn't want to walk around with me if I wore T-shirt all the time." She looked into the mirror and put on light makeup, and a light golden shadow on her eyes.

"Brie, I don't care what you wear… I love you, not the clothes you wear." He said and lifted her chin and kissed her lips softly, careful not to mess up her shinning lip gloss. "And for the record, you look sexy in my T-shirts." They both smiled at each other and looked forward to the night ahead of them, not knowing it would be the last night together for awhile.

"Thanks." A small blush appeared on her cheeks and she wrapped her small arms around his strong torso. "We should get going." She looked up at him and he smiled. He grabbed his black leather wallet off of the night stand and they walked out of the room and to the car hand in hand. "How long does it take to get there?" she asked about the place that they were going to dinner. He just smiled at her and shook his head slightly.

"I don't know, twenty five minutes maybe. You ask a lot of questions." He said and continued towards their destination. It was along the beach, where the sunset was visible. It was probably about forty five minutes until the sun would set, and it was beautiful. The sky was in layers of shades of reds, pinks, oranges, yellows, and a little bit of purple.

"Troy, can we stop and watch it please?" she turned in her seat to face him. "It's so pretty and romantic." Her eyes were shining in a way that made him want to stop, but he couldn't if they were going to get there on time. If they got there on time, then they would be able to watch the sunset from there own private part of the beach.

"Ella, I can't if we're going to get there in time. We really need to be there in like fifteen minutes, and if I stop, we'll never get there."

"Oh…" she said quietly and turned back in her seat to face the falling sun. Man was she in for a surprise when they got to their destination. Not only will she be able to watch the sunset… but is also going to be able to eat a romantic dinner by the crashing of the waves. She has always loved little romantic things like that and who is he to stop her from doing these things. And even better, he set them all up just for her. All he wanted to do was make her happy.

Ten minutes later, Troy smiled as he saw the little beach house on the left side of the road that the man on the phone had told him to watch out for. She had barely said a word to him after he had told her that they couldn't stop, but she was going to love him after this. So it was totally worth it. About another quarter mile down the road, there was a little dirt path that led to a secluded part of the beach. He slowed down and made the turn, earning a shocked expression from the beauty sitting beside him. He just smiled to himself as she did not say a word yet. "Troy… you said we couldn't…" She started when he cut her off.

"I said that we couldn't stop there. If we would have stopped there, then we couldn't watch the sunset from here." He placed a hand on her upper thigh and leaned over and kissed her soundly. She closed her eyes and placed a gentle hand on either side of his face, loving ever minute with him. He kept his tongue inside of his own mouth, just letting their lips play with each other. He lightly took her bottom lip, and squeezed it softly. Causing her to smile and pull away. His eyes opened slowly and he looked up into her awaiting chocolate ones. She moved one of her hands and wiped away the gloss left from her lips and smiled.

"Can we watch it now?" she asked and he smiled. He nodded and turned off the car and opened the door to get out.

They walked over to the beach and sat down. He sat down first and then pulled her down by her arm between his legs. She giggled and then leaned back up against his hard chest.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Gabriella had never thought that she would be this happy. As a child growing up, she had always had a plan for her life. She would graduate top of her class, attend a high ranked university, and become a highly regarded doctor. But never in all of her wildest dreams did she ever imagine that she would find that one person that made her heart jump every time that she wakes up next to him, or her eyes wander so hungrily when he walks out of the shower in just a towel, or that she could be completely comfortable being who she was. Just Gabriella.

But it was that fateful day when she met that one person that changed all of the things that she wanted. And the most important thing in her life right now was that person, the person she was leaning against while watching the sun fall below the horizon. Troy Bolton.

"Troy, this is so perfect," She whispered back to him as his hands drew invisible lines on her exposed thighs. "the sand, the beach, the sunset, the dinner, … everything." She had never had such an incredible week before this one. He proposed for her for one, she said yes, they reached a new intensity and desire in their sex life, and he was showing the sweeter side of him. She loved the sexy, independent Troy… but there was always a spot in her heart for the sweet, romantic Troy. This Troy doesn't come out often, but she loves it when he does.

"Anywhere where you are is perfect for me." He whispered just above the crash of the waves. The sun had finally dipped below the surface of the ocean, and all that was lighting the place was the bright moon and the few tiki torches that were scattered around the blanket where there food was waiting.

"I love you… you know that right?" she responded and looked back into his eyes. He just smiled his sexy smirk and planted a kiss in her black locks.

"Yeah, I've heard." He said and wrapped his arms around her small waist. "I love you too." There was a moment of relaxing silence before he spoke again. "Can we eat now cause I'm starving?"

She giggled ,stood up, then turned around and held out her hand to help him get up. She had taken off her heels when she found out that they were going to that beach.

They ate and laughed, laughed and ate. They talked and were quiet, were quiet and talked. Everything was so relaxed and lighthearted. It seemed like nothing could ruin this perfect night that they were a part of.

But, just they way the atmosphere gets calm before a devastating storm hits, their peaceful evening was in for an awakening.

She was now lying under him as their lips intertwined, both of their body temperatures rising with the heat created between the two. The tension was building and it was ready to snap. "Troy… let's go back to the room." She said and looked up at him as a bead of sweat dripped down his bronze forehead. His eyes were laced with desire as well as hers as the two continued to kiss intensely.

"Yeah…" he said out of breathe and brought her lips into one more earth shattering kiss before he stood up and pulled her up with him. She grabbed her shoes and bag while he grabbed the stuff from the picnic and dragged it all back up to the car. The crash of the waves seemed to get louder as all was silent around the two. "Brie, you ready?" he asked as he opened his side of the car. She was standing watching the waves crash and fall back into the water. Her head turned around and a huge smile grew on her face.

"Yeah… let's go." She replied and walked up to the side of the car and got in. Something wasn't right. To her, it seemed that it was too quiet even with the crash of the waves. Troy pulled out and turned onto the main road and headed off to their hotel. "I know I said it like a thousand times, but this was perfect, I love you so much." She said and leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, for the thousandth time." He smiled at her brightly and didn't take his eyes off of her. "You know, kissing me while driving could be really dangerous." He smirked and glanced back at the dark road ahead of him before immediately directing his gaze back at her. "But I like to live on the wild side." They both smiled and continued looking at each other.

"I love you Wildcat." She said and leaned over to kiss him once again, but she suddenly stopped and her eyes grew wide. An ear piercing scream left her mouth, "TROY!!!!" He quickly turned back to the road, only to see the two blazing headlights of the truck staring back at him. He swerved the car to the right but it was too late.

The screech of the tires and the screams of the people in the car were heard loud and clear. They were followed by a sound of crunching metal and a loud crash. The black rental car flipped not once but twice, and then landed on its top.

Silence…

After the storm, all is calm and quiet again… but it's a different sort of quiet, an eerie silence that is dark and tense. The crash of the waves slowly filtered back into the sounds, the wisp of the breeze off the ocean through the trees. And a faint whisper could be heard coming from the driver's side of the flipped car.

"Gabriella…"

**Mwahaha! I know, I am so evil for just leaving you like this… but hopefully this will get you back into the story. :) I love you all! Please review!**

Purple dress in profile


	5. The Aftermath

**Hey Everyone, I'm not gonna hold you back today!**

"911, what is the state of your emergency?" said the voice on the line that had a hint of bord-ness. The operator had been working all day and was about to leave to end her shift when the call came in.

"I swear it was an accident… I didn't do it on purpose…" The man with a raspy voice said through the receiver. Panic and fear were etched into his deep voice as the conversation progressed on. She was professionally trained to handle situations like this one.

"Sir, you need to remain calm… please tell me what is going on?" she repeated in almost a robotic voice. She gets these types of calls multiple times a day and after the umpteenth one, it gets a little repetitive.

"I was driving my truck on Smith Street and it was a blind curve." The man stated. "There was a car coming the other way and I didn't have time to stop." He continued talking in a voice that kept cracking and gradually getting faster as he moved through the story. "The other guy swerved of to his right, but the side still got hit by my truck. The car flipped a couple times and is lying on the side of the road. No one is moving. I don't know what to do!" He finished and by the sound of it, he had tears in his eyes.

"Sir, remain calm. We are sending a team of paramedics. They will be there as soon as they can." The operator informed him. "I need you to remain on the scene and monitor the situation, watch for movements and help if they do get out. Can you do that?"

"Yes…" he said in a shaky voice and the call went silent. She sighed and hung up the phone, finally done with work for the day. One more life saved.

* * *

"Gabriella." Troy said and reached up to his forehead, pain shooting throughout his body. She didn't answer. "Baby… talk to me. We're gonna get through this." he looked over at his wife to be, but she wasn't moving and her hair was masking her face. Troy released himself form the restraint of the seatbelt and dragged himself out of the car. His whole body was in pain, but his heart was taking over, he needed to get her out of there. There was gas leaking and the car was on fire. It was going to blow any second.

He couldn't picture his life without her in it. As much as he tried, just in case something went wrong, where ever he was, she was always standing right next to him. If he was playing basketball, Gabriella was in the first row with a gleaming smile on her face. If he was at a party talking with friends, Gabriella was the one in his grasp. If he was holding his firstborn child, Gabriella was the one laying on the hospital bed exhausted, yet glowing at the same time. He wanted her to be in his arms for the rest of his life, there was no one else but her for him.

He walked slowly around the burning car, with his hand grasping at his other arm. A dull constant thud was originating from his arm, but he thought nothing of it. That is until he drew his hand away and looked down to see a deep scarlet covering his limb. The contents of his stomach began to churn and threatened to come up as the fire in his arm intensified; exploding through his body like a flood of pain. Tears began to cloud his vision, but he couldn't stop; he had to get Gabriella out of the car. That was the only thing he had to concentrate on now.

Get. Gabriella. Out.

Troy knelt down beside the overturned car, and looked in to see that Gabriella still had not moved. "Gabi…" his voice shook as there was still no response coming from her. He swallowed back the newly formed tears in his eyes as he reached in the car to release the seatbelt from her waist. She fell onto his injured arm, causing him to admit a low groan of pain, but that couldn't stop him. He placed him arms under her knees and back, and started to move her weight outside of the vehicle.

After intricately moving Gabriella's body out of the car, Troy lifted her small frame with ease. He slowly moved away from the car, and headed for a small patch of grass. He was biting his lip, trying to hold back cries of pain as his body was starting to rebel against him. Just a little farther and he would be there. Twenty more steps. So close. Then, an ear piercing sound went off; it was probably the loudest sound that he had ever heard in his life. Troy dropped to his knees and held Gabriella's head into his chest as the searing gust of wind blew past him. The car had just blown up. He held her close, protecting her from the flying debris from the recent explosion.

The fiery gust eventually stopped, and Troy looked down at the face of his goddess. It was different now, so pale and lifeless. He had never seen her in this way before. She looked as though all the life had drained right out of her. There was blood on her flawless face from the cuts on her head. He lightly ran his fingers over the wounds, and choked on the tears that were coming out at the same time.

He couldn't live without her, she was his everything. He leaned over her still frame and put his cheek next to her mouth. Then he felt it, there was still a faint breathe coming from her lips. "Gabi, baby… please open your eyes!" Troy stifled out as the sobs were growing larger. He leaned down again and connected their lips; he was praying that she would kiss him back like she always did when he woke her up this way. She didn't. He sobbed even harder while was shaking violently, and was loosing ability to come up with other ways to bring her back to life. He needed her, she was his lifeline. Tears rolled down his cheek and landed on hers.

Then it happened in slow motion. Troy was staring at her eyes, praying that they would open. Then, her lashes fluttered open slowly to reveal the deep auburn spheres that he would know anywhere. She looked up at him, tears were still falling from his bright cerulean eyes. "Troy…" she said in a quiet tone that was barely audible. He held back another cry as she said his name again. He thought he would never hear that again.

"Yeah…" Troy said as his voice cracked. "What is it Gabi?" Troy asked as his fingers lightly ran over the smooth surface of her cheek. Troy couldn't help but think that this was the last time that he would ever talk to the love of his life, and see her eyes that made him drop to his knees, begging for her to love him. He didn't want this to be the way that it ended. No, he wouldn't let it be the way that it ended.

"Don't let me go…" Gabriella breathed out as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Troy nodded his head, because he was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. He leaned down again and connected their lips softly.

"I love you Ella…" Troy said quietly. A smile formed on her lips before her eyes closed again. Tears flooded over his eyes uncontrollably as he held her body to him. He sobbed and sobbed, and then he saw the red and blue lights flashing in the distance, and the sirens were growing nearer and nearer. "I'll never let go Gabriella, never." Troy looked over her again and memorized everything about her again. If this was it, he didn't want to forget anything about her even if it wasn't how she normally was, he still needed her.

* * *

"Troy, honey…I don't know what to do… She doesn't remember you." Her mother said as she took a seat next to Troy in the hallway. She had been in there for the last half hour trying to convince Gabriella that Troy was the one she loves. Gabi kept telling her that she had no clue as to who he was, and asked if everyone was trying to play a sick joke on her. Troy just sat here, silently breaking as each attempt to get her to remember failed. How in the world could he have let this happen. She was the only one who he had ever loved and he promised her father that he would not let anything happen to her. Troy was almost certain that Gabriella's father would take back his blessing that he had granted them.

Troy leaned his head back against the wall defeated and let out a sigh. He would have to find a way to make her remember. Deep inside of her, there had to be a place where she still knew who he was, there had to be. But the problem that he faced was trying to find that back corner of her brain. "It's okay Mrs. Montez, you tried." Troy said and got up. He went and stood in the doorway to her room and watched as she laughed along with her brother. Why couldn't that have been him? Why couldn't she remember him?

She noticed his presence and glanced over at the door. A look of confusion and concern crossed over her features. She looked at him straight in the eyes and her eyebrows came together confused. He looked back at her and gave her a small smile, and she returned it halfheartedly. He couldn't take anymore of this. He said goodbye to Gabriella's mom and brother and then went back to the hotel room. He pulled off his shirt and sat on the couch while turning the TV on. He sat there and stared at the screen, but was not taking any of it in. He barely even heard the knock on his door.

He got up and walked over to the barrier between him and the person asking to enter. He sighed and opened the door without looking to see who it was. It was the housekeeper. She was about twenty years old with long blond hair that was pulled back in a straight ponytail. She smiled seductively as she ran her eyes across my bare torso. She grabbed the end of her ponytail and twirled it between her fingers as she licked her lips. Troy knew exactly what she was thinking. She could tell that he was depressed and sad, he had a good body, and that she was going to get laid. There was one little problem with that scenario. He was engaged, he was in love with his fiancé, and there was no way he was going to sleep with a sluty maid at a hotel.

"Hey…" she said and took a step into the room. Troy was already disgusted with her, and just wanted to be alone. "You look lonely, do you want some company?" she asked seductively as she walked further into the hotel room. No he did not want company.

"Uhh, no… my _fiancé _should be back any minute." He completely lied. She couldn't remember who he was, but little miss-fuck-a-lot didn't have to know that. He put emphasis on fiancé and pulled his shirt back over his head as she stood with her back against the wall. She still had a seductive smile on her face as she looked hungrily at him. This was going to be harder than Troy had thought. "You don't believe me?" Troy asked questioningly and took a step towards their bedroom.

"Not at all." She responded and followed him, a sly smirk still evident on her lips.

"Then explain to me why I have these…" Troy said and pulled out a black lingerie set and held them up for her to see. Then he pulled out a sexy red thong and the bra that matched and showed her that too. "I don't think that these would fit me…" he reached in his back pocket for his wallet and pulled out a picture or Gabriella and him on the beach. "What about her? I think they would fit her." He smiled and shoved his wallet back into his pocket.

"Oh… I didn't know." She said and backed away a little, blushing.

"Now could you please leave, I'd rather you not be here right now." He finished and held the door open for her. She walked out and gave him an apologetic smile. Troy shut the door and sighed with his back against it. God he just wished that she would remember him. He wanted to feel her baby soft skin, taste her delicious lips, and hear her angelic voice more than anything in the world right now. He didn't want to be hit on by horny maids; he wanted to be loved by Gabriella more than anything at this moment.

They were scheduled to go back tomorrow, but he didn't know if she would go back with him. He had to call her mother and make all the plans, but on the inside, he was dreading the much needed phone call. He knew that her mom would reassure him that everything would be okay, and that he just needed to give her time.

Bullshit!

He was punishing himself for what happened. If he wouldn't have been so careless and taken care of her, none of this would have happened. He was blaming himself and was not going to be happy until she was completely better even if it tore him up entirely. To him, he deserved all this suffering. He sighed and sat down before dialing the familiar number of Gabriella's mother. He waited.

"Hello?" her voice rang over the line. He could already feel the emotions flooding over him. He couldn't find the words to speak. There were so many questions on the tip of his tongue, and so many things that he wanted to say, but the words were not forming in his mouth. "Troy honey… are you there?" Gabriella's mother asked with concern laced in her voice. Nothing was making sense to him right now.

"Yeah…" he choked out. Then he said quietly, as if not to disrupt anything going on around him, "I was just wondering what we are doing with the flight tomorrow." Troy had a sense that he was going to be flying home by himself, and was waiting for the rejection.

"Oh honey… about that" she started with a hint of sadness in her voice. Troy was positive that the rejection was coming soon. He thought that if he knew it was coming that it wouldn't sting as badly afterward. He was wrong. "I don't think that it is such a good idea that she flies home with you tomorrow." She did sound sincerely sorry for this, but it still didn't stop his heart from aching. Troy knew that she was not the one to blame, so he nodded his head even though she couldn't see him. He was struggling for words again.

"Alright." He finally pushed out somberly. If Troy knew his luck at the moment, he was bound to sit next to a really fat guy tomorrow on the plane that smelled like a mix of Tabasco sauce, rotting old feet, and shit all mixed together. He was just always _lucky_ that way. It was going to be one of the longest flights by himself. "Umm… do you want me to just bring her stuff back with me? I could take it to our house, and then you could come get it when you have time." He suggested knowing that there was a huge stack of unbelievably sexy lingerie in there that Gabriella's father would probably not approve of.

"If you wouldn't mind sweetheart, that would help a lot." Her mother said sounding a little distracted. He couldn't blame her, if his daughter had just lost part of her memory, he would be a little distant too. There was a long silence that followed. Troy was debating whether or not to ask how she was doing, even though it would just cause him to become more depressed than he already was. But his heart took over.

"How is she?" Troy asked timidly not really knowing if he wanted to know the answer of that. His right hand reflexively went to the back of his neck, where it goes every time that he is nervous. Of course he cared about if she was feeling alright, but would the answer hurt him more?

"She's doing very well Troy. There's nothing to worry about. The doctor said that she is alright to leave and return home tomorrow. And, she has gotten a lot of the color back into her face." Troy's eyes started to water at this. He wanted to be there every step of the way and tell her that it was going to be okay and that she would get through this in no time. He desperately wanted to run to her and give her the biggest hug he ever had and kiss her like he never kissed her before, but that would just freak her out. He had to learn to control himself now when he was around her. "Troy… it will get better soon, I promise. Don't beat yourself up over it… just think that you saved her life. She could've still been in that car when it blew up. You saved her. She'll remember you, just give her time."

Troy said his goodbyes and hung up before his eyes overflowed with tears again. He had to keep strong; he couldn't just break down like this every time that someone mentioned her name. He could do this; all he had to do was take it one day at a time.

* * *

"Flight 219 to Albuquerque is now boarding. All passengers should report to the gate at this time." rang the voice over the intercom. Troy stood from his current position and sighed while walking towards the plane. He looked around and spotted a fairly overweight guy that was picking his nose. Great, this was the guy that he was going to get stuck next to. How did he already know? He walked into the line that had formed at the counter and waited his turn to enter the aircraft. God how he hated waiting in lines, that is if he didn't have someone to keep him company.

It was finally Troy's turn to give his ticket to the younger lady that was collecting them. She smiled brightly at him and handed him back his stub, and he smiled halfheartedly then continued to his seat. To his great surprise, there was not the disgusting fat man in the seat next to him; instead in was a girl with light brown hair that looked to be around his age. He lifted up his backpack and placed it in the overhead compartment before smiling down at her. She understood and stood up to let him get into the seat. He sat down and was followed by the young girl. "Hi, I'm Sam." She smiled brightly.

"Troy." He said while pulling his phone out of his back pocket to turn it off. "So, what were you in Florida for?" Troy asked while placing the black object back into his pocket. She seemed nice enough to him, and Troy didn't want to give her the wrong impression by acting like a complete bastard.

"A cheerleading competition, but I had to leave early because my mom has to get surgery. It's nothing major, but I feel I should be there for her." Sam explained as Troy pulled out his i-Pod even though he couldn't listen to it until they were in the air. "What about you?" Sam asked a distracted Troy.

Troy figured that it was better to tell the truth and that maybe there would be a slight chance that it would be easier to deal with if he talked about it. "Well, my girlfriend, Gabriella, and I came down because it was her birthday. And, I proposed to her." Sam gasped and a huge smile covered her slim face.

"That's _sooo_ romantic! Where is she?" Sam paused for a minute after she said that, and that is when a look of complete horror crossed over her face. "Oh no, she didn't say no did she?" Troy let out a small chuckle and genuinely smiled for the first time since the accident.

"No, no… Oh god no. She said yes, well she more like screamed it." A sigh of relief came from Sam's mouth as Troy's lips curved upward again. "Then, I took her to the beach the next night for a private dinner for just the two of us, it was amazing. After we left and were driving back to the hotel, there was a blind curve. A truck coming the other way didn't see us and we didn't see him until it hit us. The car flipped…" Sam was listening intently as if it was a movie and she couldn't look away. Her eyes formed tears as Troy progressed into the story.

"I was okay, but Gabi was unconscious. I pulled myself out and then went to the other side and pulled her out too. The ambulance came and took her and then me… I don't' remember what happened after that. One minute I was in the middle of the street and the next I was awake in a hospital bed. Gabriella was still in a coma when I woke up, and didn't wake up until two days ago, her parents were with her and I was in the food court with her brother." Troy was finding it hard to continue, and was reflexively playing with the rind on his finger.

"Troy, you don't have to finish… It must be really hard reliving it." It was definitely hard for him to go through it again, but the more that he talked about it, the better he was able to cope with it. He knew he couldn't keep everything bottled up inside of him so he continued with the story.

"No, it's okay… When I went to see her after her mother told me, she didn't know who I was. Gabriella's mother tried so hard to convince her that she had been in love with me for close to three years. Gabriella insisted that everyone was trying to play a sick joke on her. It turned out that she had some memory loss in the accident, and they don't know if it is going to return. She's going home with her parents and brother." Tory finished and took a deep breathe. She had freely falling tears on her cheeks as she thought about how Troy must feel.

"Oh my god." She said in a quiet voice that was barely audible. "I'm so sorry." Troy smiled slightly again and actually felt a little better about the situation since he had told someone. "I hope everything works out between you two. Do you have a picture?" Troy nodded and pulled out his wallet before grabbing the picture that they had taken on the beach. Troy was wearing black, gray, and white plaid swim trunks and she was wearing a white multi-colored polka dot bikini. The sun was shining down on them, and Troy had his arms wrapped around her waist from behind and they were both laughing. Chad was the one who had taken the picture, and he couldn't figure out how to use the camera. "She's beautiful Troy." He took the picture back and placed it safely in his wallet before smiling again.

"Thanks." Troy said. The two talked about random things for awhile longer and occasionally breaking out laughing; something Troy had not done in a while. Then, they played cards, and before either of them knew it, they were about ten minutes away from Albuquerque. Tory had not even needed his i-Pod after all. He never thought that a complete stranger could help him forget his problems. When the plane finally landed, Troy and Sam exchanged numbers in a completely friendly sort of way and walked to baggage claim together. Troy's bags came, and he pulled them off the belt.

"Bye Sam, thanks for everything." He hugged her and smiled. He was lucky that she was the one sitting next to him on that plane, or he would still be one hundred percent broken.

"You're welcome. Gabriella is a really lucky girl Troy. You're a great guy." Sam said and waved goodbye s Troy returned to his bags uttering a goodbye one more time before heading out to his black range rover. He placed the luggage in the trunk and got into the drivers side before pulling out and making his way back to their first house that they had bought together. He knew that when he got there, he would be a complete wreck because he would see her everywhere, remembering all that little things that she did. He might have to ask and see if he could stay with Chad for awhile.

All he knew was that he had to find a way to fix this. Gabriella will remember if he had anything to do with it. His only problem was getting there; he had no idea what to do in order to get there.

* * *

**Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know that I haven't updated in a while, but my grades in school were starting to slip so I had to bring them back up which meant no Fanfic for a while. I hope that I got this down on paper as good as it was in my head. Who knows! Lol**

**Anyway… Did anyone else hear that Zac and Vanessa are GETTING MARRIED IN REAL LIFE!!!!!! I don't know about you guys, but that would be like my best day ever. I am a 100 percent Zanessa fan. :)**

**Anywho, please comment and let me know what you think! (Sorry, I didn't really check for spelling and grammar so sorry if it is wrong :))**


	6. What Used to Be

Troy couldn't get past the front door. He had had to be standing there for at least half an hour. Troy felt just like the way that a student does when they don't want to see the grade that is on an essay that they wrote so they refuse to open it so they have no clue what their parents are yelling about when the report card come home. Troy didn't want to open the door to his house, fearing the way that he will react when he finally comes in contact with the air that was shared between the two of them. He was beyond nervous. He was completely and utterly terrified.

After gaining the courage and getting over the nerves, he slowly inserted the key into the door of the house. After all, it was just a house and nothing more. Slowly turning the key to the left and hearing the clicking sound of it unlocking, he turned the knob and pushed the door forward but not taking a step into the domain. He could do this, he had to do this. If he was ever going to become alright with his current situation, he would have to enter the threshold of this empty house.

He lifted up his leg slowly and entered the threshold, taking in his surroundings. They were overwhelming him, the memories that he was seeing of her. The black and white motion pictures that were going on inside his head were taking over. He could see her all around him, the things that she used to do, and the things that made her who she was. He looked to the right and saw the kitchen, and to the left there was the living room. He could still picture events that had nothing to do with anything like they just happened yesterday. It all seemed so surreal and strange that the rooms were all so quiet and motionless while the shadows of her were dancing around in his head…

----

"_Gabi, I'm so hungry!" Troy whined as he sat down at one of the bar stools in the modern kitchen. It was after they had gotten back from camping with the gang and they barely had any food in the house. The only things there were the old stale pieces of bread and the box of baking soda in the refrigerator. They had not eaten for ever in Troy's opinion and if he didn't get any food in his stomach soon, he was going to explode._

"_Sorry babe, but there's nothing here, what do you want me to do?" she smiled at him as she leaned over and rested her elbows on the granite countertop while he leaned forward too and captured her lips in a soft kiss. It wasn't heated or anything, but the sparks that were always evident shot through her small frame and his as well. _

"_Be creative and make me something to eat." He smirked at his girlfriend of almost two years and leaned back in the chair once again. She pouted and sat up on the counter across from him. God how he loved her, he would do anything for her, probably even kill himself for her if he had to. Every little thing that she did was perfect in his eyes. The way that she carried herself, and the way that she touched him softly sent all his senses soaring. _

"_What am I, your slave?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. She had a very sexy side that Troy loved to lure out, and would take any chance he had to do that. This was one of those times. Troy was a hungry tiger ready to pounce and the food just so happened to be his sexy girlfriend Gabriella._

_He stood up from his seated position and walked toward her. She backed up into the corner where the edges of the counter met. He placed a hand on either side of her and stepped so that their bodies were with in centimeters of each other. It was at times like these that Troy loved the fact that he was a good six inched taller than her. She looked up at him still with the questioning look in her eyes as Troy bent down and grazed her ear with his lips. "The only time that you're my salve is in the bedroom." His rough voice entered her awaiting ear as a laugh erupted from her throat._

"_I am not a sex slave Troy!" she exclaimed and pushed him away from her but remained in the corner. "The only reason I have sex with you every night is because your little friend gets hard every time you see me. And I don't want to hurt you by depriving you of your needs." She said and crossed her small arms across her chest. The feisty side was coming out and Troy liked it. _

"_It's not like you're complaining." Troy made his way back over to the vixen standing across the room from him. "You beg for more and more. I don't want to hear it." Now Troy was the one giving a sexy smirk. He placed his hands on her sides, and gently lifted her up do that she was sitting on the counter, so she was almost eyes level with him. She rested her arms on his shoulders as his forearms found a place on her thighs, and his hands curved along with her sides. "Now that that is cleared up, what can we make to eat?" Troy always thought about his stomach and was always hungry. Gabriella giggled softly at his comment._

"_Well, we could go to the store to buy stuff, or I think we have pancake mix downstairs." Troy smiled and brought her lips into a gentle kiss. She threaded her small fingers into the hairs on the back of his neck and brought him closer to her. He wrapped his arms all the way around her dainty waist and held her close to him. The two shared many kisses like this throughout the day. They just couldn't get enough of each other. Their friends didn't like to be around them at times like this because it was as if the whole world around them disappeared and nothing else was there. Their friends found it sickening. _

_Troy eventually pulled back and smiled while his forehead was up against hers. "Pancakes it is." Her deep coffee eyes bore in to his cobalt gaze and smiled. He pulled her off the counter and grabbed her hand as they walked down to the basement to get the desired pancake mix. Troy stopped many times down to their destination to steal kisses from her even if his stomach was calling for food. Gabriella was the only thing that could completely satisfy him. _

_After mixing the mix, Gabriella placed a pan on the stove and waited for it to heat up. She grabbed glasses out of the cupboard and poured each of them a glass of milk. Gabriella returned to the stove and poured the mixture into the hot pan. She stood there and waited, but impatient Troy came over and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He left his left arm securely around her stomach, while the other took the spatula and tried to flip the pancake that was not ready yet, and caused it to fall apart. "Gabi! Look what you made me do!" Troy laughed out and kissed her neck softly. She smiled and had a surprised look plastered onto her flawless face. _

"_I didn't make you do anything! It was your stupid stomach." Gabriella proclaimed and led him back to the seat. She pushed him down into the chair and leaned over him. "Now, stay. If you even move your sexy little butt out of this chair, there will be no pancakes for you." Gabriella threatened and returned to her place in front of the stove and placed a new batch onto the hot surface. _

_Needless to say, Troy didn't move a single muscle the whole time that she made the pancakes._

_----_

_He didn't know what to do to help her. She just laid there day after day, tears slowly falling down her golden cheeks. He watched her and broke inside because there was nothing that he could do. The flu had been going around and Gabriella had gotten it. Just the way that she looked told Troy that she was hurting. Anything that she showed on the outside was half of what she felt on the inside. He had learned this the hard way, and wished it wasn't like that. She is a strong girl and won't let anything bring her down._

_Every time that he would enter the room, she would quickly hide her face and wipe the tears that Troy knew had fallen. He had barely left her side the whole time that she had been sick and wasn't about to start now. They had just moved in together and this was his time to show her that he would always be there for her, in sickness or in health, during anything that happens._

"_Troy…" Gabriella's voice was weak along with the rest of her ailing body. He was sitting on the floor in front of her as she slept and was watching a movie basically silently as she rested. He turned and looked at her pale face. Her cheeks were flushed from the fever that was raging through her small body. _

"_Hey, how you feeling?" He turned to his knees and ran his fingers lightly over the soft skin of her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes again. God he wanted this to be him and not her, but what boyfriend doesn't._

_Gabriella didn't answer him just let her bottom lip quiver a little. Was she trying to kill him by breaking his heart? "I…I'm real… really cold…" Gabriella was able to force out to Troy. She opened her eyes again and looked up into Troy's piercing blues. He wanted to help her but she already had multiple blankets on her. His touch used to make it better. Whenever he would touch her, the pain and tension would go away, but now it only numbs it. He wanted to do more._

"_Do you want another blanket, or heavier hoodie?" He wasn't sure what she wanted, only that she was miserable. She hadn't slept properly since she got sick and he knew she needed sleep desperately. Deciding that if Gabriella was in pain, he should be in pain too, he took off his white T-shirt and was left in his red basketball shorts. He lifted up the cover to reveal her laying his black Wildcats hoodire with Bolton written across the back, and a pair of red lace underwear. That's one way to show spirit. He climbed onto the couch with her and pulled the blanket over both of them. Troy lay on his back and pulled the exhausted Gabriella to rest on his stomach. She cuddled her head under his chin and clung to the warmth that was radiating off his sun-kissed skin._

"_Baby, sleep… please." He whispered into her ear and soothingly placed his hand under the back of the sweatshirt and rubbed tiny circles on her skin. He felt the muscles in her tense body start to relax and her take in a deep breath before quivering after it left. He pressed his thin lips to her scalp, and then her forehead, and every other place that he could reach without disturbing her._

_Troy slowly worked his right hand up her back, stopping and massaging it as he went while the left one stayed at the border between her underwear and her smooth skin. The hoodie was moved up to under her bust and her bare stomach was flush against his strong abdomen. Her head was tucked under his chin, and her hands were completely covered by the sleeves on the sweatshirt. Her arms were tucked under her, like she was holding herself together. _

_Troy's magical hand continued on it's path up her back, waiting for it to hit the barrier of the clasp of her bra. But the farter that his hand moved up, he still felt nothing. His hand made it up to her shoulder, where he was searching for the strap, but there was still nothing. Troy's eyes became wide as he realized that she was wearing nothing but his hoodie. His friend jerked a little as he closed his eyes and imagined ripping the soft material off of her. He was become hotter as the thoughts of her were running freely through his mind. _

_He knew that he shouldn't be getting turned on right now because she didn't have enough strength to walk let alone make love to him. She was barely awake and it confused him how strong a power she had over him. Her soft hand traveled slowly across his chest, before curving to the shape of his chin. She slowly lifted her head to look at him straight in the eyes, confusion was flooded in her tired gaze. _

"_Troy, your heart is racing…" Gabriella said before looking down at her hand on his chest and then back up to his cobalt gaze. "Are you okay?" She spoke no louder than a whisper with hints of overwhelming concern laced in her words. He just smiled softly at her. The genuine concern that she showed about him made him extremely blissful._

"_I'm fine Gabs, please just try to get some sleep." Troy raised his hand and entangled it into her brunette locks before gently placing her head securely back under his chin. That was a little too close for his liking. "I love you…" he spoke directly into her ear in a tone softer than a whisper. But each word was laced with enough passion that it didn't matter how loud it was. He didn't want to be anywhere but right there in that moment. _

_----_

_Troy lay completely still in the bed, feeling extremely nervous. This was it, there first night that they would spend together in their new house. Sure, the two of them had spent entire nights together, but not like this before. Either it was at a party, or under the thrill that their parent could walk in at any moment. Now with their own house, they didn't have to worry about nosey parents or a drunken person walking in on them. He took a calming breathe and turned off the TV. Gabriella was talking in the bathroom on the phone. Troy stood up and walked to the door and was about to knock when he heard his name. This could be interesting._

"_Shar, what do I wear? I don't want Troy to think that I'm a slut…" He could only hear the one side of the conversation, but he could only imagine what the other side was like. 'Where the small lingerie, it'll be off in a second anyways…' or 'just soffee's and a beader, keep it pg on the first night…' He chuckled silently to himself. He would practically fall to his knees at anything that she wore. But most definitely he would not think that she is a slut._

"_Are you sure that's not too slutty? God I feel like a little teenager…" He smiled again before taking a few steps back to the large bed with a white comforter and black pillows. She had picked it out before they moved in. Troy, on the other hand, was only wearing a pair of basketball shorts and red and black plaid boxers. She had seen all of him anyways, so it didn't really matter what he wore. He couldn't wait to be able to hold her all night completely carefree. _

_About 5 minutes later, Gabriella opened the door to the bathroom and took a step out into the chilly air of the bedroom. He was wrong about what Sharpay was telling her. But he liked it. She was wearing just his wildcat t-shirt and a pair of black boy short underwear. Her smooth legs were shining in the dim lighting, and her soft curls were pulled up loosely into a messy bun. He smiled at her, and she smiled softly back at him. Troy couldn't take his eyes off of her as she walked across the room to turn off the light, then make her way in the shadows to the bed. _

_As the weight shifted slightly on the bed as Gabriella slowly slid under the covers, Troy rolled onto his side to face her. She looked up at him and then blushed before adverting her gaze to her hands that were resting lightly on her stomach. He wasted no time, and leaned down to capture her soft lips with his. "You look extremely sexy, it definitely looks better on you." Troy said softly earning a small giggle from his vixen of a girlfriend. He placed his hand on her waist and moved his thumb slowly over her hip. _

_Gabriella reached up and tangled her hand at the base of his head in his silky strands. "Well you look pretty sexy yourself Troy." She leaned up and joined their lips again. After about a ten minute intense make out session, Gabriella slowed in down, until their hearts were back to normal. She was still breathing a bit on the heavy side, but not as much as before. "Troy, we both have class tomorrow, we should get some sleep." Troy looked at her and smiled._

"_What? You don't want to have sex?" He said with a small smirk evident on his lips. "It would be the first time that we don't have to be quiet because of parents." Troy said in a joking manner. But Gabriella took it seriously, like she always does._

"_Troy, I really want to, but we have to be up early…" She defended herself. "And if we do it, I'm not going to stop at just once." She trailed her finger lightly down the golden strand of hair from his naval down to the top of his boxers. "I want to go again and again until you can't move." She smirked over at him she moved her hand up to his cheek. "Can you handle that Troy?" _

"_Hell yes, god I'm glad that I work out everyday. I can go practically until the sun rises." Troy announced and pulled her to him._

"_Show me then alright, but now I gotta get some sleep." Gabriella pulled herself away from Troy and got situated facing away from him. He slid over to her so that her back and his chest were lined up perfectly, and his strong arm was over her small frame. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, and that was alright with Troy. He placed a kiss on the back of her shoulder and nuzzled his face into her soft strawberry scented hair. Huge smiles were evident on both of their faces. _

_----_

Troy could feel his legs give out from under him as he stood looking at the bedroom where they spent many nights together. He fell to the floor, with his back resting against the wall. His face was between his hands as he let out much awaited sobs. They were taking over his whole frame, as he sat helpless. He couldn't do this. He needed to find another place to stay. He couldn't stay in this house any longer.

He pulled out his sleek phone from his pocket and pressed speed dial number four, it immediately started to ring. "Hello?" His best friend Chad answered.

"Chad, I… I can't do this…" the tears started to fall again, as he was finding it hard to breathe. He leaned his head back against the wall and tried to stop the tears. The words that his friend was saying were not registering in his brain, nothing was making sense, he felt completely numb… Somehow he heard Chad say in a panic mode that he and Taylor would be there in a minute. His arm dropped to his side as the tears continuously ran down his golden cheeks. Fuck whoever said men don't cry. They probably didn't have their whole life stripped away from them.

Chad arrived at the house three minutes later and both Chad and Taylor were hovering over Troy asking questions that weren't making any sense to him. He just looked blankly at the two worried friends. After a minute of their rambling, Troy pushed off the ground into a standing position. Taylor immediately embraced him in a tight hug that Troy returned, letting a few tears fall from his red eyes. "Can I stay… with you guys for a while?" He asked shakily, looking to his best friend.

"Yeah dude, I'll go get some clothes for you, go wait in the car with Tay." Troy was lead down the steps to the front door, and out into the driveway where the parked car was waiting. He didn't want to be seen or comforted by anybody. He just needed to be alone.

……

"We have to do something about him Tay, he's been in that room since we brought him here." Chad sat down on the stool at the counter opposite of Taylor. "He hasn't eaten, showered, or… done anything." Chad's head fell down in to his hands as he let out an exaggerated sigh. "This isn't like him."

"I know C, but what can we do?" Taylor had thought about this multiple times. When she thought of the perfect couple, the first two people that come into her mind were Troy and Gabriella. One was barely ever seen without the other. Seeing them apart was one of the hardest things that she had had to do, and she can't even imagine what Troy is going through. She had never seen him like this, and was going to come up with a way to fix it if it was the last thing that she did. "I can't even imagine what he is going through right now."

"But he can't let it stop his life; we need to get him out of the house." Chad said as he lifted his afro-fied head.

"I don't know, I think he just needs time. While he's moping, we could be thinking of ways to help when he's ready to come out." Taylor stood up and looked up the steps to where Troy was. There was still no movement. She sighed defeated and returned to where Chad was seated.

"So, what are you thinking?" Chad asked skeptically.

"I have no clue…" She sat down defeated and let out a sigh of frustration.

……

Troy pulled on the white T-shirt, and then the black Nike running shoes before grabbing his black I-pod and taking a deep breathe. He hadn't eaten because he wasn't hungry, he hasn't slept because he couldn't, and he hasn't done anything because he hadn't had the energy. But, one of the things that always made him feel better was running. He could just leave his body and not worry about anything but putting one foot in front of the other. So, that's exactly what he was going to do, run away from his problems. Not that that was the right thing to do.

He opened the door to the familiar scenery of Chad and Taylor's house, and stepped out. As he descended down the steps, he heard their voices in the kitchen talking. He passed them, but didn't even spare them a glance. He just continued out the door into the hot weather. He turned on his I-pod full blast and began to gain momentum. One more step, one more problem behind him. The longer and faster he went, the further his problems were behind him. One more minute, one more song, one more mile. He didn't know how long he had been running, but it had become dark. He slowed to a walk and the only thing that was heard was his steps on the pavement and the husky sound of his breathing. He felt so much better, but there was still the empty hole in his heart that only one person could fill.

_Spat! Splat!_

Troy looked to the sky, where there were now drops falling onto the hot earth. They became faster, larger, and more abundant. Soon within five minutes, it was a complete downpour. But, instead of running for cover, Troy held his arms out to the side and looked up to the dark sky before screaming frustrated towards the thundering sky. The rain drops were washing away his frustrations one drop at a time. Before he knew it, he was completely soaked and was lying on his back in the middle of a small clearing. The rain was overtaking him, and for the first time in a long time, he felt free of self-pity. He finally realized that he had to do something…

He had to get her back… whatever it took.

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**Please review guys! Thanks to everyone that favored the story and reviewed it. I am really grateful for you guys! And thanks for bearing with me about getting new chapters out! **

**Thanks again everyone! Mwa! Mwa!**

**Up next: Gabriella's return home for the first time since the accident. :)**


	7. Pictures

**Finals are this week and I have to do some serious studying! Once summer comes around though, I'll have more time to write I hope. :)**

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"Gabriella, are you ready to go sweetie?" Maria asked her daughter as they were ready to leave for the airport. Gabriella had been adjusting well to everything. Though she was still forgetful and had almost a constant headache. It was time now for them to return home. Gabriella was going to spend the time at home at her parent's house, and not in the house that she and Troy had bought. Maria was on Troy's side, she wanted Gabriella to remember, but was not going to push the issue just now. She wanted Gabriella to heal and become comfortable before trying to push her back with Troy. Though deep in her heart, she knew that Troy was the one for her.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." Gabriella yelled from the other room. Troy left to return home two days ago, but they had decided that it would be best for her to come home with her family. Gabriella had been spending a lot of time with Aden, like old times when they were younger. Even though she seemed happy, the happiest that Maria had ever seen her was when she was with Troy. But, Gabriella didn't remember that.

"Hurry up sweetie, the plane is going to leave without us." Maria explained and stood by the door. The boys were already in the car waiting downstairs. Maria was lost in thought, when Aden entered the room. He stood in front of his petite mother.

"Where is she?" He asked and waited for a response. She didn't answer and just pointed towards the bathroom. He nodded and walked in after her. A few seconds later, Gabriella was screaming and hitting Aden's back as he carried her over his shoulder towards the door of the room. Maria couldn't help but picture Troy in Aden's place handling her daughter. They were so in love, that it hurt Maria to see them apart. She walked into the bathroom and gathered all of Gabriella's remaining items before checking the room one last time and walking down to the car.

"Alright, I think we're ready to go." Jose said as he looked back at his two grown children before backing out of the space and pulling out onto the busy road. The ride to the airport was a quiet one, Gabriella was acting as though she was mad at Aden though her mother knew that she wasn't. They pulled into the rental car return place after about 20 minutes. Jose and Maria went into the shop while Aden and Gabriella waited with the luggage.

"You really don't remember him?" Aden asked out of no where. Gabriella was confused and didn't know what he was talking about.

"What?" she asked and looked at him with scrunched eyebrows. "Who are you talking about?"

"Troy… the guy from the hospital." Gabriella looked at the ground and shook her head no. Everyone had been pushing that she knew him and loved him, but Gabriella didn't even recognize him. Why were they all trying to get her to remember this random guy, what did he have to do with anything in her life. If he was that important to her, why the hell did he disappear from her memory?

"For the last time, NO! I don't remember him… will you all just drop the subject! He is just some random guy that showed up at the hospital and nothing more dammit!" she stomped her foot on the ground and walked away. She was tired of people bringing him up. She didn't know why either, except for the fact that he was really hott, but she wasn't going to admit that to anyone. She opened her phone and looked down to see a picture of her and the guy in question smiling. She realized this was the first time that she opened her phone since her accident. "No…" she whispered. How did this get on here? She opened the rest of her pictures on her phone and almost ever single one contained him in it. He was always kissing her or had his arm around her. No, this isn't happening. She closed her phone back up and threw it on the ground and sat down on a bench.

"Gabriella, baby what's wrong?" Maria came around the corner and saw her daughter and the broken phone in front of her on the ground. She sat next to her daughter and rubbed her back calmly.

"I feel like I should know him but I don't. Why do you all keep trying to make me do something that I can't do? I don't know him!" She poured out as a couple tears fell down her golden cheeks, the mascara running too.

"Hija, don't worry about it sweetie." She said comforting her daughter. She wasn't going to push the topic, but she knew that Aden was going to, Aden loved them together. He was totally for them, and when Maria and Jose told him that Troy was going to propose to her, he was ecstatic. It is always an older brother's job to protect their little sister until they find a guy to spend their life with. Aden trusted Troy entirely with his little sister, and there was no way that he would give up on them.

"But mom, why does everyone keep bringing him up?" Gabriella would never understand because Troy to her right now was just a complete stranger. The memories of him were wiped away so the deep feeling that she did have for him weren't present now.

"Gabriella, please forget it, I told Aden not to bring it up anymore until you are ready to talk about it." Maria informed her only daughter and stood up offering Gabriella a hand to help her get up. She took it gratefully and then pulled her into a comforting hug. "Now let's just get to the plane so that we don't get stranded here, that's the last thing we want to do."

With that Gabriella smiled and walked with her mother back to where Aden and her father were standing with the luggage. Aden looked at her apologetically and walked over to her. "I'm sorry Gabs; I won't say anything again alright. It just bothers me…" he trailed off and looked down at the ground. Gabriella smiled a little and pulled her brother into a hug.

"Thank you Aden." She said against his chest and he squeezed her tight causing her to squeal and her parents so laugh. He let go and they made their way into the terminal where they checked in their luggage and then went to the gate to wait for the plane to arrive.

After the five hour flight, the family of four made it back to Albuquerque safe and sound. Jose was getting the bags with Maria, while Aden and Gabriella were walking back to the car so that they didn't have to wait as long. They would bring the car back to the baggage claim and they could be on their way home.

The whole family got situated in the car and started the half hour drive back to the Montez household. Gabriella listened to her I-pod and watched as the unfamiliar terrain passed her by. By the time that she they got back near the house, some things started to look familiar, like the park that her and Aden used to play at when they were younger. Finally, the car pulled into the driveway of the house that Gabriella grew up in. A smile formed on her lips as she stepped out of the car and looked at her castle from when she was little. She ran up to the front door and opened it revealing everything just as she remembered. She immediately went to the right down the hallway to go up the stairs to where here room was.

She stood at the door and pushed it open. It was just how she left it, there was light purple on the wall and while carpet. Her dresser was covered with jewelry, and her bed still had the dark purple cover on it. She walked over to her bed and fell back onto it smiling and bouncing a little as she did.

She missed her bed. God it felt like forever since she was here. Not realizing that this was because she did not live here anymore. She closed her eyes and took in the scent of the candles that were on her dresser. She looked around her when something caught her eyes. She scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at the mystery object. "What?" She shook her head no. "This isn't right." She held the picture that was on her bedside table. Her hands were shaking as she looked down at the picture that showed him giving her a piggy back ride. She had her head on his shoulder and her arm across his chest, and he held her under the legs. And it surprised her even more that she was only in a bikini and him only in his swim trunks.

She threw they picture down on her bed and covered her mouth with a hand and chocked on the tears. No, this couldn't be true. She looked on the other bedside table and saw another picture of her and the mystery guy. This time he was only wearing dark cargo shorts and no shirt while she was wearing a loose white dress. He had his arm around her neck and she held him around his torso. They were both smiling. No, this wasn't happening.

She sobbed and fell to the floor. Her small body was shaking, they aren't real, they aren't real. She was telling herself that in her head, but every time that she looked up, the pictures were still there.

_Later that night_

Gabriella got up from her bed and grabbed the pictures. She had calmed herself down a little after the initial shock of seeing the pictures. She was finally ready to hear what her mother had to say about her and the blue eyed boy. She opened her closet door and her mouth dropped. There was only a couple of shirts, and nothing else. She went over to her drawers and opened them too… there was only a couple of items. Where did all the clothes go?

She was confused, but left her room and walked down the steps to the kitchen, but her mother was not there. She turned the corner and went towards the living room where her mom was sitting and reading. She walked into the room slowly and took a deep breathe. She took a step in front of her mother and held the two pictures out for her mother to see. A smile crawled over Maria's lips as she looked at the pictures from when her daughter was so happy.

"I'm ready to listen." Gabriella forced out in a quiet voice. She was scared of what she was going to hear, but she wanted to know why this guy kept showing up everywhere that she looked. Her mother then looked up at her and patted the seat next to her on the comfortable couch. She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them with her arms while facing her mother.

"Are you sure?" Maria asked and placed the bookmark in the book to save her place. Gabriella nodded and looked at her mother that held the information that she thought she wanted to know. "Alright, what do you want to know?"

"What's his name?" She asked and awaited the answer.

"His name is Troy Bolton. You met him freshman year when you went into high school. You almost instantly became inseparable. You did homework together, you hung out together, and you went to parties together. Then I think it was during sophomore year that Troy finally got the guts to ask you out. Aden and your father were against him because they knew that one day they would loose their positions as the most important guys in your life." Gabriella smiled a little at her brother and father's protective behavior. They had always been like that when she was very young.

"Did we ever you know, like fight a lot?" Gabriella asked trying to peace together their relationship. This was not easy for her but she knew that she had to do this, or she might regret it.

"Not that I ever noticed. You guys had a couple disagreements, but you were right back in his arms by the end of the night." Maria smiled at her daughter again and took the pictures off of the couch between them. She lightly drew her fingers over the glass of the frame and an even larger smile came onto her face.

"Where were we?" Gabriella interrupted her mother in a quiet voice.

"You guys went to Hawaii. I was hesitant to let you go with just him, but I knew you would be in good hands. Plus, I was pretty sure that you guys were going to end up together anyways." She smiled once again at the pictures in her hands.

"What is he like?" Gabriella wasn't sure what she wanted to know about him. It seemed that he was an important person in her life, but she just couldn't remember. "What were we like as a couple?"

"Honey, he was the nicest, most polite, handsome young man. But as you would say, he was _hott_." Both Gabriella and her mother laughed at her use of modern words. "He took care of you when you were sick. He was always there when you were working on a project the night before at 2 am. He would make coffee runs and help you finish. I think he even bought you tampons one time, and a guy has to love you a lot to do that." Gabriella looked down and looked guilty for not knowing him. But she couldn't say she did when it was a lie. "Gabriella, that boy loved you more than I even thought possible. It makes me sick just thinking about how he must be feeling right now. The fact that he was driving the car must be killing him."

"What? What car?" Gabriella was confused.

"That's how you lost your memory sweetie. Troy and you went to Florida together, and after eating dinner on the beach, he was driving you guys back to the hotel and a truck came around the corner and hit him. It wasn't even his fault; the other guy was on your side of the road. But the fact that Troy is Troy, he blames himself for anything that happens to you." Her mother confessed as a couple tears fell down her face. "That's why I want you to do something for me Gabriella."

"What? Anything for you mom."

"No, not for me. For Troy. I want you to go and talk to him, or let him come and talk to you." Gabriella's face dropped to the floor. She wasn't ready to face him. There were still so many questions that have been left unanswered. She couldn't do this now, not when she was having all these mixed emotions.

"Mom, I can't. It's just…" Gabriella let her voice fade as she gazed down at the floor again, which was much easier to face then her mother. "I feel bad enough that this has happened. But maybe, it was for a reason. Maybe we weren't supposed to be together." Gabriella stated and looked back at her mom.

"Gabriella! Don't ever say that!" Her mother was upset now. "That boy ment everything in the world to you and you want to throw it away just because you hit one little bump in the road! A relationship takes work, it not just smooth sailing." Gabriella could feel the tears of guilt burn the back of her eyes. She wanted to remember, she really did, but she couldn't. And the fact that her mother was yelling at her was not helping the situation.

"Mom… please stop." Gabriella couldn't take the yelling anymore. There were certain things that she could handle, and her mother yelling at her with disappointment laced in her words was one of them. Tears fell from Gabriella's eyes as her mother stood up to walk out of the room. Maria turned around before she left and looked back at her crying daughter.

"Stop what Gabriella, you're the one that is being so damn difficult. You need to suck it up and go talk to him before you loose him entirely. That boy was the best thing that ever happened to you, and you don't even see it. That's just pitiful." With that, Maria exited the room and made her way to the kitchen. She left Gabriella to think of everything that has happened in the past week. Well, what she could remember.

A couple minutes later, Maria walked back into the room, but still had the annoyed look on her face. She debated whether or not to show Gabriella. She knew that she was being hard on her, but this was something that Maria knew Gabriella would thank her for later. "Here. It was on your left ring finger the night of the accident." That was all Maria said before placing the little box on the end table in the cozy living room. Gabriella stared at the box for a couple of minutes before finally reaching out with a shaky hand to retrieve the small box.

With a deep breathe, Gabriella opened the small box and saw a ring. It wasn't just any ring. It was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. Tears started to form in her eyes again as she looked over the white and pink stones. Slowly, she pulled the ring gently out of the box and slowly slid it onto her ring finger. It was a perfect fit. Gabriella sobbed and took the ring off before placing it back in the box and setting it down on the coffee table hastily like it was poison. This couldn't be right. There are a lot of rings that are out there that would fit her finger. This was not the only one. What of it was just a joke? What of it was just a game to see if she would really fall for it? No, this couldn't be what she thought it was. This was not an engagement ring. There was no way that this was _her_ engagement ring.

She sat there and just gazed at the small box on the table. Then suddenly when it was completely silent in the house, the doorbell rang. Gabriella just sat there. Her mother would get the door.

"Gabriella, could you get that? I'm busy at the moment." She sighed and stood up as her mother called down the steps. She was going to get up anyways because she couldn't be sitting in that room with the poisonous ring any more. She unlocked the door and slowly pulled it open. Her jaw dropped to the floor as the figure looked up from the ground in slow motion to gaze into her eyes. There was a huge gut wrenching pain visible in his cobalt eyes. He was hurting and it was apparently all her fault.

"I…" he started and then closed his mouth as he slowly looked over her body with lusting eyes. He wanted her so bad, but wouldn't force it. "Your mom…" he trailed off and connected their eyes once again. He mouth grew dry and she couldn't break away from his alluring glare. Had he really given her the ring that was burning a hole through the coffee table? Was he really the one that she was going to spend her life with?

Gabriella didn't even notice the bag that he was holding in his and containing some clothing from their house. "I'm sorry…" She said and started to back away from the frame. "I can…can't d-do this." Gabriella turned and sprinted up the stairs with water pouring out of both of her eyes.

"Gabriella! Wait!" Troy called from the doorway and dropped the bag before following her up the stairs two at a time. But before he got there, she had already shut and locked her door. "Please Ella, talk to me." He whispered and pounded on the door softly. He turned his back to the door and skid down it. He held his head in his hands and quietly sobbed. This was going to be harder than either of them thought.

"Troy? What happened?" Troy looked up at Maria and wiped the tears that had formed in his eyes.

"She answered the door and just ran away. I swear I didn't do anything." Troy rambled on and stood up. "You have to believe me. I didn't do anything."

"I believe you Troy. Just give her some space." He nodded and walked back down the step and outside. He was going to go to his car and head back to Chad's, but something else was pulling him to the back of the house. He walked into the back yard where her balcony was. He looked up and saw her standing on the inside of the door. She looked so sad and hurt. She turned around and pulled the shirt she was wearing over her head, leaving her in only a bra and short shorts. Troy wanted to stay, but knew it would hurt him to much so he turned and walked back to his car and took off.

"Just give her space Troy, She'll come back." He told himself over and over again. Maybe the more he said it, the more likely it would come true.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update. But as I said, I only have a couple more days of school! Woo hoo! SUMMER! Luv you guys!**

**Please review! **

**(Pics from bedside table on profile!)**


	8. Just Wanna Be With You

**Hey guys, I'm so happy that you all stayed with me through those long times when I didn't update. I had a lot going on and I didn't exactly know where I wanted to go with this story. But I got this chapter out, but have to organize my thought on what to do next. **

**If you guys have anything that you want to see, feel free to write them in a review or send a PM. Thanks everyone and happy reading. **

_Do You Remember? Chapter 8_

"Mrs. Montez, I feel sort of weird being here. You know what I mean…" Troy sat stiffly on the couch in her living room where he and Gabriella had spent a lot of time together. They used to watch movies, well were going to watch the movies but ended up just making out and not paying any attention.

"Troy, Gabriella is with her brother at the park, she won't even know that you were here, now relax. What do you want to talk about?" Troy was playing with the hem of his black button-up shirt and avoiding eye contact with his lover's mom. Something just didn't feel right about being in her house without her knowing. He wanted to know everything that was going on. He wanted to know what time she went to bed, if she was dreaming, what the dreams were about, if she had said anything about him, what was she wearing, was she still using her strawberry shampoo, etc. all of these questions have been floating around in his head constantly since he had not been with her every day after what happened in Florida.

"How is she?" he asked in an almost inaudible whisper. He lifted his chin a little and quickly glanced into Maria's eyes. This was hard for him to sit here like this and talk to someone who got to see her everyday, and just spend time with her. It didn't seem fair to him that Maria got that privilege but he didn't.

"She's doing good Troy. She really is. Well, as good as someone could be doing if they were just in a car accident and lost their memory." Maria smiled a little and took a sip from her iced tea that she was drinking. She was trying to make the situation lighter than it really was, but Troy was buying none of it. He felt his heart twinge at the thought that the only reason she lost her memory was because of him. He was struggling and couldn't accept the fact that there was nothing that he could have done that would have changed what happened.

"I guess that's good." Troy sighed and looked up again. "Is she… happy? I mean, does she smile at the little things and laugh when nothing funny happened like she used to do?" Troy was breaking just remembering that this was basically his fault. Maria reached out to his hands and grabbed his hand in hers firmly causing him to look up once again. But this time there were tears in his eyes.

"Honey, there is nothing you can do about it. This was not your fault Troy. Stop blaming yourself for this. It hurts me that you are hurting so much." Troy shook his head and tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind but they just kept fighting back to the front. This was his fault and nothing that she said could change his mind. "So, we went to see the doctor the other day." Troy closed his eyes slowly and kept them that way for a minute. What she said here could either be good or bad, there was no in between.

"What did he say?" Troy wasn't one hundred percent sure that he wanted to know the answer to this question. There was a good side and a bad side. He could tell them that her memory seems to be getting better and a full recovery in expected, or she could tell him that there is no sign of progress and recovery is very slim. But deep down, Troy wanted to know everything that was going on since he could not be physically with her right now.

"Troy you have to understand that what they are doing right now is a guessing game. There is no sure way to see how recovery is going. The brain works in ways that even a computer cannot and trying to understand is like trying to locate a needle in a haystack." Troy was becoming nervous and a little scared at the same time. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, then placed his head in his hands. He could almost feel the bile rising in his throat at the sound of her words. Was she prepping him for disappointment, or trying not to let him get his hopes up?

"Mrs. Montez, that really doesn't answer my question." Troy lifted his heavy head and looked at her in the eyes pleading with her without words to tell him what was going on. She took a deep breath and laid her hands neatly in her lap. Troy's nerves were growing with every second that was passing by.

"Well, they really haven't seen any changes… and recommended that she does some therapy sessions." She stated calmly, awaiting the outburst that Troy was going to have. She was just about as nervous as he was telling him this because she knew that it would break his heart. She continued quickly after that, "…but they also said that it could be one thing that could bring it back." Troy furrowed his eyebrow and looked at her.

"What does that mean?" he asked in a quiet voice.

She thought about his question for a few seconds before answering, "Well, it could be a familiar smell, or sight, or taste that could bring it back. They said something about one familiar connection could bring the rest of the memories flooding back." Troy smiled a little. All he had to do now was to find what familiar thing would bring his baby back to him. "The doctor told us to surround her with things that we used to make all the time, what he favorite scents were, and what used to be her favorite toys." Troy nodded slowly and had an idea.

"Well, what if I take her back to east high and show her all the things that she used to do there?" he asked hopefully knowing that this would be an opportunity to spend time with her. There must be something at their old high school that would spark her memory.

"That's a great idea Troy, but not by yourself. I don't think that she would agree if it was just you." Troy practically heard his heart break in the quiet room at the sound of her mother's words. "I think the only way that she would agree would be to go with all of her other friends too." That made sense to Troy, but he wished that it wasn't true; he wanted to spend time with her alone.

"Okay. I'll call the rest of the gang and ask if this afternoon is good for them." Troy said and stood up. Maria joined him in the standing position and hugged her son-in-law-to-be. Troy was a lot taller than her like Gabriella, and it reminded him of having her in his arms, but knew that it wasn't really her. He let go and walked to the door.

"Let me know Troy, text Aden and tell him to tell me that everyone can go and then I will tell her." Troy nodded and opened the door to walk towards his midnight Audi R8 and get into the drivers seat. He sighed and pulled out of the driveway and headed of towards Chad and Taylor's house.

* * *

"Gabriella, can you can you come into the kitchen for a minute?" Maria called out to her daughter that was in the living room with her brother watching some movie that Maria did not recognize. Troy had texted Aden about a half hour after he had left her and told her that everyone was in. They were going to pick up Gabriella in about an hour. Gabriella walked into the kitchen and sat at one of the stools around the high counter. She grabbed one of the cookies that Maria made and ate it with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, what's going on?" Gabriella asked as she licked her fingers ridding them of the melted chocolate from the warm cookies. Maria smiled at the innocence of her daughter; it reminded her of when Gabriella was younger.

"Some of your friends were thinking, and they are going to take you back to East High in about an hour. They all want you to get back your memory, and the doctor said to surround you by familiar things." Maria stopped for a second to pull out another tray of cookies from the oven and place them on the cooling rack. "I think that they are doing a good thing and that you should go." Maria looked up at her daughter whose shaped eyebrows were scrunched in thought. After a couple of minutes and Maria returning to what she was doing, Gabriella finally spoke up.

"Alright, I'll go." She stood up and started to walk to her room.

"Thank you sweetie, it will mean a lot to them." Maria yelled up the steps, but then finished to sentence so that only she could hear it. "Especially to Troy." She smiled to herself and resumed her baking. "Aden." She called into the living room.

"yeah?" he called back into the kitchen, he was too lazy to get up and see what she wanted.

"Tell him that Gabriella said she'll go." Maria smiled happily to herself. This could be the start of bringing Troy and Gabriella back together once and for all. She could not wait until that day when she could see them both completely happy again.

_With Gabriella_

She didn't know what to wear. She knew that everyone would be there, and was almost positive that this Troy figure that everyone kept talking about would be there too. She didn't know him at all like everyone kept insisting that she did, but she did know that he was hott. So, she didn't want to look like a complete slob in front of him.

She looked through the suitcase that he had brought over the other day and pulled the items out slowly looking over them. She came across a lot of things that she didn't remember even owning, but they were cute all the same. She finally chose a little black dress, and paired it with her pair of black tall UGGS. She put on the outfit, and then curled her hair perfectly and pulled the top half back with a clip. She finished her makeup and then sat down on her bed. She took a deep breathe and looked at herself in the mirror. She was beyond nervous and she didn't know why.

"Gabriella, are you ready yet?" her mother called from the bottom of the steps. Gabriella guessed that everyone was here. She took another deep breathe and stood up in front of the mirror and fixed her hair one last time. At that same moment, Aden walked into her room.

"Hey Gabs, wow… you look hott!" Aden said with a smile on his face, and went over to give his sister a hug. Gabriella laughed a little and pushed him away.

"Aden, that's so gross, you're my older brother. Don't tell me that I'm hott!" She picked up her purse and started to make her way out of her room. He gently grabbed her arm and brought her back into another brotherly hug.

"I can't help it Gabs, you are." She blushed and looked down at her outfit once more. "I think that Troy is going to like it." Aden smiled and leaned against the doorframe blocking her from leaving. Gabriella smiled a little bit, but was still a little angry that everyone kept talking about Troy.

"I don't want to talk about that Aden, please just drop it." She could almost feel the tears burning the back of her eyes, but she would not let them fall for him. No tears would leave her eyes for him; a person that she didn't even know and definitely did not love.

"You know that you're dressing up like this for him. Don't try and deny it. I don't care if you don't remember him, but he is there in your mind even if you don't notice it yet." Aden smiled and watched his little sister. She shook her head no and pushed him out of the way and walked down the steps. No, he was not right and there was no way that this was for him. He was not in her mind.

"Bye mom." She said rushed as she stepped out of the door and faced the black car that was sitting in the driveway. Her eyes met Troy's and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her breath got caught in her throat as she looked over his flawless body leaning against the shiny black of the car. He was wearing a black t-shirt that clung to every ripple of his muscular body and a pair of dark destroyed jeans with black converse. She met his eyes again, they were dark. It was almost as if there was a fire burning him up from the inside. It was slowly eating away all that he was. Little did she know, she was the oxygen feeding this fire inside of him.

She felt her body taking steps forward, but didn't break the stare that was connecting the two. The sun was radiating off of her golden skin as she walked slowly towards the black car. He was pleading with his eyes to let him in. But she was rejecting him, breaking him even further than he already was. She broke the connection between them and stepped towards the door, opening it and climbing into the back seat and shutting the door.

"Brie, what was that?" Taylor whispered into her eyes quietly as Gabriella watched Troy walk around the front of the car towards the driver's seat. The way that all of his muscles worked together to allow him to move with such grace was mesmerizing. Every muscle contracted and expanded at the right time to allow him to move sexily like a god in front of the car. She looked away and let out a breath that she didn't know she was holding.

"I don't know Tay." She buckled her seat belt and sat back, avoiding looking at the god-like figure in the driver's seat. When he got in the car, a whiff of musky cologne filled her nose and she closed her eyes taking it all in. Her body felt an unbelievably strong tension between him and herself. There was a sort of magnetic force pulling her to him, but Gabriella was not going to give in. This person was not going to control her life. She was her own person, and would not succumb to him.

Finally, after an almost silent car ride between the group of 5 people, Troy pulled into a parking space in front of East High. The rushing fountain out front was flowing swiftly below the giant cherry red letter 'E'. They all got out of the car and made their way towards the entrance to the school. Troy took a deep breathe and unlocked the door with his father's set of keys, since he was the basketball coach, he had a set of keys that would allow them to go anywhere in the school. He pulled back the glass door and held it open for everyone including Gabriella. She looked up at him as she passed through the door, but looked away just as fast as the connection was made. Troy sighed and followed the gang inside.

They wandered through the silent halls, passing each dark classroom without a word. The only sounds that could be heard were the muffled footsteps of the young people. They had just made their way into the science portion of the building when the first words were spoken. "Gabriella, does this room look familiar? This was our science lab last year, and where we met for the science decathlon." Gabriella stepped into the room and slowly walked around searching her brain for any recollection of this place. She lightly drew her fingers over the desks as she made her way to the lab tables. She took in the aroma of the room, but nothing was ringing a bell. Gabriella turned and bit her lip as she faced her friends.

"I'm sorry, but none of this looks familiar. It's like I've never been here before." She sat down at one of the desks and let her head fall into her hands. Troy walked over to Taylor and quietly whispered to her so that no one else could here what he was saying. They both looked over at Gabriella at the same time, and Troy sat on the teacher's desk.

"Gabriella honey, I think there is something that might spark a memory. Come on." Taylor pulled Gabriella up and hooked arms with her before making their way to the auditorium. There was a pang of guilt in Gabriella's stomach that none of this seemed familiar. She kept reminding herself that this was not her fault and she didn't have to remember. This happened for a reason which means maybe her memory wasn't supposed to be there.

They walked for about a minute before they came to the many sets of door that had a sign above them reading _Auditorium_. Taylor opened the door and led the group inside the large room. Gabriella walked in, and immediately smiled. She always dreamed of being a part of a musical. Singing was one of the things that she had always loved, but was too afraid to share it with the world. The many rows of red padded seats brought a smile to her face, and the large stage was calling to her. There was no back drop on the stage, so all of the ropes that controlled everything were visible. Gabriella walked slowly down the long aisle taking in every detail of the vast room while Troy trailed behind the group praying that something would spark her memory. The only thing that was on the stage was a black grand piano.

Troy suddenly realized something, and had an idea that could possibly help. He smiled a little before leaving the group and climbing up onto the stage. Kelsi had taught him some of _Just Wanna Be With You_. Maybe if he played it, it would help with her memory. The rest of the group was still on the floor talking about the musical.

"…You and Troy were the two leads in Twinkle Towne in our junior year, and then were also in Senior Year in our senior year." Taylor was explaining. Gabriella didn't believe what she was hearing. There was no way that she was in the musical; she would never do that, though she would have loved to. "Troy probably wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for you. You have him so whipped." Gabriella took a step back and crossed her arms across her chest as Taylor continued. She was not in love with Troy, and he was not in love with her. There was NO way that what Taylor was saying was true.

Then, without any warning or introduction, Troy took a deep breathe and started to play the song. He closed his eyes and tried to remember all that Kelsi had taught him.

_All I wanna do is be with you _

_Be with you _

_there's nothing we can't do_

_Just wanna be with you, only you_

_No matter where life takes us _

_Nothing can break us apart_

_You know it's true_

_I just wanna be with you_

_Yeah, yeah_

_Just be with you_

Troy stopped and looked at the group of people standing in front of the many rows of seats. He was holding back tears as he sang the song. He connected his eyes with Gabriella's for the umpteenth time that day. She looked confused and a little scared. He had a feeling that she knew that the song was about the two of them. She started to back up and leave the room. She turned to face the back of the auditorium and ran out of the room. Everyone except Sharpay left to chase after her. Troy let his head fall onto his arms that were resting on the music stand. Ashley walked up onto the stage and lightly rubbed his back soothingly. "Troy… that was beautiful…" She said softly and sat down next to him. "I know this is hard for you and it hurts, but you have to give her space." Troy lifted up his head and looked at her with fire in his eyes.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! You have no idea how this feels." Troy stood up outraged and started to leave the room but turned back before he did. "When the one you love doesn't fucking remember you, come talk to me." Sharpay was crying and he was angry, and it was building inside of him. He didn't want to take it out on the ones around him, but it just happened. He didn't know what to do with himself. He stormed out to his car and raced off to the nearest hotel. He couldn't keep hurting everyone that he loved, so he wasn't going to anymore. He would have to do this without them. He was on his own.

**I hope you guys liked it! Please review and favorite! I love you all! Hopefully the next one won't take as long.**

**(I was listening to **_**Turn Right**_** by the Jonas Brothers when I was writing the end part, and it made it really good. I thin it kinda captures what Troy is feeling. But then again I'm a little weird… whatever)**

**Pic on profile of Gabriella's outfit.**


	9. You Already Own It

**Nothing really to say so happy reading!**

_Do You Remember? Chapter 9_

"Hello Gabriella, how are you today?" The psychiatrist walked into the room that resembled a library. There was one of the day beds in a greenish-brown color, and a small leather couch of matching appearance and then a huge oak desk with a big leather chair. The room was welcoming and warm, but Gabriella knew why she was here. They were going to tell her that she was crazy and was never going to regain the lost memories. She sat patiently on the day bed and folded her arms in her lap.

"Okay I guess." She responded with a small smile. She couldn't even open up to her friends yet let alone a complete stranger that was going to make her talk. She didn't see how this was going to help anything. He was going to question her on things that she didn't remember, and then someway, somehow was going to try to get her to remember the times that got deleted from her brain. None of this made sense, if someone lost their memory, isn't it lost for good? Gabriella was skeptic of their antics.

"So, I hear that you had an accident." The doctor sat down at the desk and opened the manila folder that held what she guessed was her file. He lowered the glasses that were on his head and read over the papers. "How are you feeling now? Better… Worse?"

Gabriella crossed her legs and looked at the older man at the desk. She wondered how a person would get paid to do the impossible, find a lost memory. "I guess better, I'm confused a lot when people tell me something that I should know but don't. I'm a little forgetful, but other than that I'm fine. All of the cuts and bruises are healed." She explained and looked back at her folded hands.

"Well that's good to hear. Okay, I want you to do something for me." He took the glasses off of his face and stood up. He walked slowly towards the small leather loveseat that was by the daybed and sat down with a clip board and a pen.

"Alright." She was hesitant, but figured that she would go along with it for now. She was willing to try anything to get closer on what she was forgetting.

"I want you to lie down on your back and close your eyes." Gabriella did as she was told and laid back on the daybed. She was glad that she wore shorts and a shirt instead of a dress like she was originally going to. "Alright Gabriella, what is the farthest back memory that you can remember. It can be after the accident if that is as far back as you can remember or it could be before if you can remember that."

Gabriella thought about this for a while. She could vividly see some things in particular like meeting her best friends Taylor and Sharpay and other things like the massive birthday party that she had when she was 6. It was a princess party and everyone had to dress up as a princess. She was of course Sleeping Beauty because she wanted her own Prince Charming to come and kiss her to wake her up. She smiled a little while her eyes were still closed remembering that that was the party that Sharpay decided that she was going to get a boyfriend, and the first guy that she saw was Aden.

"I don't want to interfere with your thoughts, but would you mind vocalizing what you are seeing. This needs to be a process where I can hear you and help you navigate through these memories." The doctor said and Gabriella opened her eyes to look at him. He was biting the end to the pen and looking at Gabriella intently.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Gabriella smiled apologetically a little and then laid her head back again and stared at the ceiling. The turning fan seemed to be more interesting that what she saw in her head.

"So, what were you thinking about when you started to smile before?" He asked and opened his pen ready to take notes. Gabriella didn't exactly feel comfortable spilling out her guts to this guy. Sure he was one of the best mental analysis doctors around, but he wasn't close to her. She had never let people in easily, but she had to do this for her mother and the father and brother. She closed her eyes again but was shocked by what she saw. There was a pair of the bluest eyes that she had ever seen, and had a gut feeling that she had seen them before, but couldn't match them to anyone. She opened her eyes again and continued to look at the ceiling confused.

"Well, I was just thinking about my sixth birthday party and how at that party my best fiend Sharpay decided that she wanted to date my older brother." Gabriella said quietly and nervously before glancing down to her folded hands.

"Can you remember anything else from when you were younger? For instance, do you remember what you used to watch on TV?" Gabriella closed her eyes again and thought back to her childhood.

"Well every Saturday morning, my brother Aden and I got up at eight o'clock to watch the morning cartoons. We watched Pokemon and all of the other silly little things." Gabriella smiled again at the vision of her and Aden in footie pajamas watching TV with a big bowl of fruit loops. Maybe this therapy thing wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it would be.

--

"Well, Gabriella seems to be clear on what happened way before the accident, when she was younger, but things seem to become fuzzy around when she entered her high school years. Were there any drastic changes in what she did, or who she met at that time?" Maria lowered her head into her hands. She could not believe this, that was when she met Troy.

"Yeas there was, Gabriella met Troy in high school." Maria sighed and felt a couple tears slid down her cheeks. She could not believe that this was happening to her daughter and the man that she loved since she was in high school.

"That's weird; she never mentioned anything about a Troy. Who is he?" The doctor asked intrigued by her Maria's change in demeanor. Maria wiped her eyes and looked up at the doctor.

"That's because Gabriella can't remember him. Troy is her fiancée; they were so in love and almost inseparable from the moment that they met. I cannot believe that this is happening to my baby." Maria let more tears fall from her red swollen eyes as the doctor wrote things down on her notepad. He made a note to bring up Troy in their next session. Little did he know, that that was not a very good idea. It was a sensitive subject with her and was wisely avoided.

* * *

"Hey, I'm gonna take a nap." A worn out Gabriella told to her mother as they walked into the door of the Montez house. It was only 10 am, but the session with the psychiatrist earlier that morning had really worn the girl out. All of the thinking and trying to become clear on things that were not clear was straining to her. "Can you wake me up around noon; me, Shar, and Taylor are going to go to the mall." Maria smiled up at her beautiful daughter. She was definitely the highlight of Maria's life, well her and her older brother Aden. She loved being a mother more than anything, and the way that Gabriella was pushing all the complications behind her was inspiring.

"Alright sweet heart, I will. I'm so happy that you are doing this, moving on with your life and not staying caged inside hiding from everything." Maria could feel the tears form in her eyes as she spoke to her one and only daughter. Gabriella smiled and walked down the few steps separating them and engulfed her mother in a huge hug that lasted for what seemed like forever. Finally Maria spoke breaking the silence, "I'm so glad that you are so strong."

"Mom, I wouldn't be like this if I didn't have such a great role model." Gabriella smiled at her mother, then kissed her cheek and let go to ascend up the stairs. She turned around at the top and looked down to her mother who was still standing at the bottom holding back the tears. "I love you mom. Just know that…" she smiled and then walked around the corner to her bedroom. Gabriella lay down on her bed and smiled remembering the look on her mothers face. It was the look that she always tried to make happen; it was one that said that she was proud of Gabriella.

She pulled the throw blanket over her small body and laid her head down on the comfort of her pillow, closing her eyes and falling into a deep rest.

"_Help! Help!" the gorgeous Latino girl screamed from the top of the tree house. She couldn't figure out why she was up in a dirty old tree house wearing a beautiful ball gown. It was a floor length peach dress with silver gems sewn extravagantly into the bust of the dress. It hugged her petite body snuggly and had a darker peach ribbon just under the bust. "Anyone! Please…" _

_She had no idea why she was in the tree house, or even how she had gotten there, but knew that there was no way down. The ladder had somehow disappeared, leaving Gabriella stranded up in the tree. _

_She fell to the floor, covering the bottom of the dress with dirt, but it didn't matter, there was no way that anyone would ever find her up in the tree house in the middle of nowhere. She would be up in the tree for the rest of her life. She looked around and saw that there was a little robot and a faded sticker on it with the name _Robo Rob_. She smiled and picked up the toy to get a better look at it. She looked all over it when she saw faded writing on the bottom left foot. There were the letters T.B. in black sharpie. _

_Who in the world is T.B., she thought to herself and set it back down. She looked to her left and saw a red cape. She smiled again and got up to hold the piece of material in her hands. It was soft, and smaller as if made for a child._

"_Hello? Is anyone up there?" a husky voice rang from the ground. Gabriella smiled and ran to the side of the tree house which held a pirates wheel and giggled, the cape still in hand. She peered over the edge to see a guy in a pair of dark jeans and a grey V neck T-shirt and black converse. But the face of the guy wasn't visible. As much as she squinted her eyes to see the face of her savior, she couldn't make it out._

"_Can you help me get down?" Gabriella stated quietly looking down at the person who called out to her. "The latter's gone and I can't find another way." She felt the blush fill her cheeks and looked down at the wood of the floor. She was wearing a ball gown and this person was wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She must look completely ridiculous. _

_The guy on the ground laughed a little and held his arms out. "Yeah, I think I could do that." She smiled down at him again, his face still hidden from her view. "Jump." He stated simply with his outstretched arms._

"_Are you kidding?" Gabriella asked confused. "I'm not insane." There was no way that she was going to jump out of the tree. She would rather stay up here for the rest of eternity._

"_I'm serious… Jump and I'll catch you." He sounded confident which comforted her a little but still did not convince her to jump. "You'll never know if you don't try." He said and Gabriella felt something new, something almost comforting. She felt a pull between her and her unknown heroine. He was pushing her closer to the edge, persuading her to jump into his arms without words. She didn't know what came over her but she was on the other side of the rope that was the barrier between her and the ground, holding on behind her, she closed her eyes and let go._

_She knew that she made a mistake when she felt the weightlessness overcome her as she fell through the air into nothingness. Just as she thought that she was going to collide with the hard ground, a pair of strong arms scooped her up bridal style, saving her from the freefall. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he set her feet on the ground and enclosed her into a hug. She still hadn't opened her eyes, but felt safe. He nuzzled into her hair, and breathed softly into her hair, "I'll always be there to catch you when you fall Gabriella."_

_Gabriella snapped her eyes open only to see a bright flash of blue before her savior turned and walked away, disappearing after about ten steps. She fell to the ground again and tears fell from her chocolate eyes, soaking into the fabric of her dress._

Gabriella jerked awake in a cold sweat. Nothing in the dream had made sense to her, the tree house and the dress… She was deep in thought, when her mother walked into the room quietly. "Gabriella… sweetie, it is twelve o'clock." She said as she sat down on the edge of Gabriella's bed, gently running her hand over her daughter's hair. "What's wrong Gabriella, you look a little pale?"

"I… I just had a weird dream that I didn't understand." She looked up at her mother's soft brown eyes and smiled a little. "I'm fine, I promise." She sat up in the bed and yawned. It didn't seem like she had been sleeping for two hours but she looked at the clock and surly enough it was noon. She looked at her mom and smiled again, laughing a little. "I promise mom, I'm fine… I have to get ready."

"Bien, me te quiere hija." Maria spoke and got up from the bed and walked to the door, shutting it behind her as she left the room. Gabriella sighed as she fell back on her bed with a small bounce, not ready to go out just yet.

* * *

The three girls walked through the crowded mall slowly, talking about anything and everything except for one Troy Bolton. Sharpay and Taylor had learned that Gabriella would not respond if they mentioned him, and would become angry, so the topic was wisely avoided. But in the upcoming events, the name was sure to come up. The three beauties walked subconsciously towards the pink and white polka dot lined store. There was nothing that made a girl feel sexier like buying a new set of lingerie. They walked into the door under the sign that read, _Victoria's Secret_.

Each of them picked out a few sets and went into the dressing room to try them on. "Oh my god Gabriella, you are so hott!" Sharpay squealed as Gabriella opened the door to the dressing room so that Sharpay could help her pick out a set. "Spin missy." Sharpay ordered while twirling her finger in the air, and Gabriella giggled while turning slowly in a circle while her hair was bouncing in the loose curls obeying queen Sharpay. "Jesh Gabs, you could like… be a porn star!"

"Shar!" Gabriella yelled quietly as she self consciously crossed her arms in front of her body. "Shut up." She smiled again and back up into the dressing room and shut the door again, closing herself in.

"Put another one on Gabs…" Sharpay demanded. She was going to do anything in her power to get Troy and Gabriella back together, even if that entailed finding the perfect set of lingerie for their make up sex. Gabriella protested from inside the room but Sharpay stopped her and told her that she would break in and dress Gabriella herself if she didn't, causing Gabriella to agree quickly.

She came out in two more, but Sharpay couldn't decide. Gabriella had one more that she had picked out and was instructed by Sharpay to put it on. She pulled on the thin lacy material, loving the way that the black and pink lace hugged her body, and made her feel like a goddess. She smiled as she opened the door to show Sharpay and Taylor the one that she wanted to buy. "Shar, I think I like this one the best." Gabriella announced.

Instead of the praise that she expected, Sharpay's face immediately dropped into a frown as she looked over at Taylor, who had the same expression plastered onto her face. Gabriella hugged her body again suddenly when the embarrassment flooded her stomach for being almost completely naked in front of her friends. "What's wrong with it… I was going to get this one." She looked down at her chest, thinking that she looked good in the thin material as the goose bumps rose on her skin from the cold air.

"You do Gabs, you look really good, but you don't need to buy it." Gabriella looked up at her friends who were sharing the same scared expression, as if what they were thinking was going to rip Gabriella apart. She was feeling the butterflies of nervousness fill her small stomach as the seconds passed by like hours. She was completely confused.

"Guys, what's going on… You both look like you've seen a ghost." She questioned and rubbed her arms up and down, trying to warm up her small body. Sharpay looked over at Taylor and sighed. Gabriella shifted her gaze between her two best friends with a worried expression on her face. Finally, Sharpay sighed and looked at Gabriella, meaning that she was going to tell her.

"Gabs, you don't need to but it because you already own it." Sharpay said and stood up from the seat, pacing back and forth a little. Gabriella's jaw dropped as she looked over at herself in the mirror.

"What are you talking about Shar, I don't have this." Gabriella protested and looked back at her friends.

"Yes you do Gabs. I'm guessing Troy left out the lingerie when he brought your clothes over because he didn't want to freak you out. I was here with him when he bought it for you. He asked me to come with him so that he could pick one out because he felt a little weird being in Victoria's Secret by himself." Sharpay continued as Gabriella began to feel dizzy. She leaned back against the wall and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry Gabi, but he got it for you for Valentine's Day one year." Gabriella slowly let her slim body slide down the wall to the sitting position at what Sharpay had just told her.

She looked down at her hands that were now tainted. These same hands had been the ones to supposedly touch Troy Bolton, the man that she thought she never knew. But could everything that everyone kept telling her be true? Were they all right, and she was just too stubborn?

"Sweetie, how about we just go…" Taylor suggested calmly and crouched down in front of her shaking friend. Gabriella looked up into her caring eyes and nodded slowly. Taylor smiled and offered a hand to help her get up. Gabriella gratefully accepted the hand and pulled herself up before going back into the changing room and putting back on her normal clothes. She cam out to her friend's waiting for her, and she smiled a little.

"What do you think of this one?" She held up her next favorite one, a deep purple bra and thong set and smiled. She was not going to let Troy rule her life. He was not going to stand in the way of what she wanted, even if it was a set of sexy lingerie.

"I love it Gabi." Sharpay said and draped her arm over Gabriella's shoulder. The girls walked together to the counter to pay for their items. Gabriella smiled on the outside but was a mess on the inside. She still couldn't believe that she and Troy… she just wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

After paying and walking out of the store bags in hand, the girls decided just to head home, so they walked out to the parking lot and all got in the car. They turned on the radio, and decided to have a girl's night. Gabriella was sitting quietly in the back seat as Taylor and Sharpay rocked out in the front seat. She watched as things came into vision and then left quickly after. She was paying close attention when something caught her eye. It was him. She didn't know what came over her, but she shouted, "Shar stop!" She did and looked where Gabriella was looking.

There, in the hot New Mexico sun, was the one and only Troy Bolton playing basketball by himself shirtless. He was only wearing a pair of black basketball shorts with his plaid boxers sticking out from the top. With the absence of color in his outfit, it allowed his skin to shine in the afternoon sun, his hair dripping with sweat as the sun radiated off of his defined muscles. It was almost as if he was moving in slow motion as he dribbled the ball twice then grabbed it in his hands, enabling him to jump and shoot the ball. She watched the ball float through the air as it approached the rim. It looked like it was going to go in, but hit the rim instead and bounced off to the side.

He took another ball that was lying on the ground next to him and shot that one the same way, and repeated with all but two of the balls, but the ball never once went in. All of his muscles were clearly tensing as he was becoming frustrated. The sweat from the humid and scorching weather was dripping down his body, causing his skin to almost glisten.

He shot the second to last one and it missed. He leaned over and rested his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He had one more shot, and that was it. He caught his breath, and grabbed the last ball that was on the ground. He spun it easily in his hands, getting used to the feeling of having it there. He looked at the basket, flicking the hair out of his eyes, and bounced the ball twice. He bent his knees and sprung up into the air, letting the ball leave his fingers smoothly. He returned to the ground and watched as the ball moved through the air toward the basket. It hit the rim and spun around it twice before falling off to the side, not going through the net.

"DAMMIT!, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME?!" Troy screamed as he picked up a ball and with all his strength left in his body, he threw the ball at the back board, causing it to fly in the other direction. He walked over to the grass by the blacktop and fell onto his back breathing hard. He put his hands up onto his head and let out an exasperated groan, it seemed that nothing seemed to work anymore.

"Shar go… Please…" Gabriella pleaded as she looked up at the two girls that were also watching the scene unfold in front of them. Sharpay nodded quickly and put the car in drive and headed towards her house. Gabriella slid down in the seat, and continued to look out the window, but wasn't watching. She continuously replayed what just happened in her mind over and over again. She felt a tear fall from her eye and down her cheek but she quickly wiped it away, not wanting to seem vulnerable. But truth be told, she was like a time bomb, ready to explode and know the truth.

**I hope you guys like this chapter! I was up until 2 o'clock last night working on it so that I could post it today for you guys! Also, I was working out the final kinks in the chapter plans, and it looks like there is going to be around 15 chapters. Maybe 14, I haven't decided yet.**

**Please review, they always make me happy! And I want to thank everyone that has read and reviewed this story, or even if you read it but didn't review… Thanks so much guys! **

**There is a picture of the dress that she was wearing in the dream on my profile, so check it out. Well, thanks again, and maybe the next one will be out next week or so.**


	10. A Walk in the Park

_Do You Remember? Chapter 10_

"Wait, did you just say that Gabs is in therapy?" Chad asked as he and Troy were sitting in the living room of Gabriella and Troy's house playing video games. Troy was kicking his ass, but that's only because Troy had been playing for the last few days straight because he had nothing else to do without Gabriella there, and it took his mind off things.

"Yeah, Gabriella's mom made her go to a psychiatrist, but she isn't sure if it is working or not." Troy said once again killing Chad in the game. Chad threw down his controller and leaned back into the soft couch sighing. He knew that he had to do something about Troy. From the experience of being his best friend since diapers, he knew that Troy was going to break, and soon.

Chad thought for a while about what he could do for Troy to help him, or cheer him up a little. He knew that Troy was going to hate him for what he was thinking, but Chad thought that it would help him. "Hoops, maybe going to a shrink isn't such a bad idea." Chad said timidly and watched as Troy stiffened sitting on the floor in front of the couch.

"Chad, I'm not the one that lost my fucking memory, I don't need to see a shity-ass doctor telling me what's wrong." Troy spat out at Chad, but didn't turn to face him as he did. Chad watched as Troy seemed to be going through an internal battle with himself. Maybe Chad would be able to sneak out of the house without Troy noticing, he seemed to be very caught up on what was going on inside of his head. There was clearly a storm brewing behind Troy's hard azure eyes, and Chad didn't want to be there when it was released. "What good would it do anyway, talking to me isn't going to solve anything, she is the one that needs to remember." Troy's eyes were glassing over with tears as he once again thought of his beautiful fiancé.

"Hoops, it was just a suggestion… Maybe it could help with all the anger inside of you." Chad scooted a little further away from Troy, knowing that he was entering dangerous territory. Troy was just like a mine field right now, one wrong step, and Chad was going to be blown to tiny little pieces.

"Chad, I'm not angry… I'm just frustrated." Troy spoke softly while setting the black controller down on the floor in front of him. "Imagine if you were me, and Tay was Gabs, how would you feel? It is just so frustrating knowing that there is nothing that you can do about it." Troy paused for a minute and closed his eyes. "She could get me hard with a bat of an eyelash, and probably still could… What if I never get to feel her again, what if I never get to taste her?" He looked at Chad for the first time since the conversation started, and desperation filled his eyes.

"I get it Troy, but maybe there was a reason that this happened." It was as if Chad's foot was hovering above a bomb in the mine field, and was about to step on it. Troy's body was stiffening, taking in the words that were spoken. "What of you guys weren't meant to be?" Chad didn't just step on the mine, he danced on it like it wouldn't matter, he leapt into the air, and came down on it with all the force possible in his body.

Chad froze realizing what just came out of his mouth. "Fuck!" Chad cursed under his breath as he saw Troy clench his hands into fists, his knuckles turning white in the process. Chad mentally cursed himself and let his head fall into his hands. "Troy, I didn't mean to, it just sort of slipped out." Chad cowered back into the couch as he watched his best friend. He could clearly feel the tension and anger radiating off of his friend's quivering body. It was definitely time to get out of there before Troy was going to turn on him and beat him for betraying him.

But things turned in a direction that Chad was not expecting. Troy let his hands relax, and the anger leave him. He took a deep breath before standing up and looking at Chad, tears threatening to spill over his bloodshot eyes. "You can stay if you want, just lock the door when you leave." Troy said before walking slowly towards the steps that led top the upstairs. Chad knew that he messed up when he said that, and he was going to do everything in his power to make it up to Troy. He was not going to sit around and let this happen anymore, it was time to take charge.

* * *

"Mrs. Montez!" Chad announced when Maria opened the door wearing an apron. He was smiling and happy to see her, but was on a mission at the same time. He was on a secret mission that no one else knew about but him. "How has my favorite second mother been?" Chad asked with a ridiculous smile on his face.

"Hello Chad" she said shaking her head back and forth before turning and walking towards the kitchen again. "Gabriella is up in her room if you want to go see her." Maria informed Chad, but instead he sat at one of the stools at the counter in the Montez kitchen.

"Actually, I'm here to talk to you." He said and smiled as Maria brought over a cookie on a spatula for Chad to eat. He accepted it gratefully and placed the warm cookie in his mouth. His eyes grew wide as the chocolate melted in his mouth and all the flavors blended perfectly together. "God Mrs. M, this has to be the best cookie I have ever had, and trust me, I've had my fair share of cookies." Both Maria and Chad laughed at his child-like behavior.

"Why thank you Chad, it's an honor that you like them so much." She smiled sweetly before sitting down across from Chad. "So sweetie, what do you want to talk about, Gabriella I presume?" She looked at Chad trough knowing eyes.

"Well, in a way yes, but in a way no." Chad folded his hands on the table in front of him and looked down at his twiddling thumbs. "I was at Troy's last night, and I said a few things accidentally that I think caused him to finally break. I sort of said that this could have happened because they weren't meant to be together." Chad looked up into her eyes before continuing. "I have been his best friend for I don't even know how many years, and this is the first time that I have seen him entirely give up. It was almost as if he is a walking zombie." Chad was terrified that he had broken Troy beyond repair and was determined to do everything that he could to make it better.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Maria asked with confusion in her eyes. She didn't know where Chad was going with this, and wasn't sure that she wanted to either.

"Mrs. Montez, I think that if Troy could just talk to her alone for a while, he would become more like he used to be. He is deprived of Gabriella, and maybe just talking with her will help." Chad was prepared to fight for his best friend because he knew that Troy would do the same if their roles were reversed. Chad was determined that before he left her house, Troy would be meeting with Gabriella, and soon.

"Chad, I want her to also, but she was hesitant just going when it was all of you going to the school. I have no idea why she remembers all of you but not Troy. This is hurting me too watching the love of her life break, but I don't want to force her into anything that she doesn't want to do." Chad put his head down on his hands as Maria said this. He was not going to give up, he couldn't give up because he owes this to Troy.

"Talk to her." Chad stated plainly still not lifting his head from his arms. Maria looked at him with a confused expression plastered onto her olive features.

"Do you really think that I haven't tried that? I have been trying to get her to accept him from the first day, but as her mother I have to protect her. I can't force her into anything she doesn't want to do." Maria stated calmly, trying not to cry. She didn't know how to protect her from herself, and it scared her.

"She is never going to progress with anything without a push. You have to talk her into going to talk to him." Chad said a little louder and more forceful than he initially intended, but by the look of Maria's face, she was considering it. "Everyone has given up on trying to help them, but I won't. He is my best friend and I refuse to watch him like this anymore." Chad got up and walked to the door, placing his hand on his door knob, but didn't turn it. "If not for me, do it for the most powerful love that I have ever seen, the one between your daughter and Troy." He turned the knob and walked out of the house and let a small smiled creep onto his face, he thought that he had done everything that he could, and hoped that he got through to her. Hopefully his mission was accomplished all he can do now is wait.

--

Maria just stood there and looked at the door that Chad had exited through only a moment before, he did have a point. Gabriella was not going to remember anything if she was sheltered in her room all day. Maria redirected her gaze to the stairs that led up to where Gabriella was at the time being. Maria sighed and wiped her hands off on the dish towel before making her way to the steps. She agreed with Chad, and wanted Gabriella to remember so she was going to have to convince Gabriella to talk with Troy by herself.

She took the flight of stairs, and paused for a moment outside of Gabriella's room before gently knocking on the door. Maria listened and softly heard Gabriella say 'come in'. She took a deep breath and twisted the door knob, taking away the barrier between them. Gabriella looked up at her mom with a small smile on her face. "Hey mom." She said softly and looked back down at the magazine she was reading. Gabriella was lying on her stomach in shorts and a T-shirt reading.

"Hey sweetheart." Maria responded softly in the same tone as Gabriella while stepping into the clean room. She walked slowly over to the bed where Gabriella was reading, and sat on the edge next to her. "I need to talk to you Gabriella." Maria said delicately and placed a hand on her daughter's back gently.

Gabriella looked up and shut the magazine, as she sat up on the bed and crossed her legs Indian style facing her mother. Gabriella studied her mother's expression trying to figure out what was going on, and why she seemed so nervous. "Mom, what's wrong?" She asked as she looked into the eyes that mirrored her own dark brown ones. Maria didn't say anything, and avoided looking at her daughter. "Mom, whatever it is… you can tell me. I can handle it." Gabriella was growing nervous as every second went by that her mother didn't say anything.

"It's not really something that I have to tell you, but is more of something that I want you to do for me, and for the people that love you." Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion at what her mother had just said. What did she want her to do so bad that she had trouble telling her?

"Mom, just tell me please, you are starting to scare me." Gabriella tenderly took her mother's hands in hers, causing Maria to make eye contact with her. "What do you want me to do?" Gabriella didn't have a clue what her mother wanted her to do, and she was not one that liked surprises that much. Maria was going to have to tell her sooner or later, but preferably sooner rather than later.

"It's about Troy, Gabs." Maria said and Gabriella quickly drew her hands back from her mothers. Her body was stiff, and it felt almost as if she could not move, and if she did, she was going to break into pieces. Gabriella was not sure why she felt this way whenever his name was mentioned, but she wished that it would stop. He had this hold over her, whenever he was mentioned; she would immediately freeze and build up the wall around her so that no one could get in. But, Maria had other plans, and a wall was not going to stop her. "I know that you don't want to hear this, but it is true. You are in love with Troy." Maria said slowly and firmly. Gabriella just shook her head no and backed away from her mother. "I am tired of seeing him hurt and seeing you alone. So try to remember, he loves you more than life itself."

"It's too hard, I just can't do it." The hot tears started to run down her face as she spoke those words. Talking about Troy was not easy, and hearing it straight from her mother scared her because she knew Maria would never lie to her about something like this.

"Look deep baby, I know that he is in your heart even if you don't want him to be, he is." Maria was holding back the tears to try and convince Gabriella that she needed to go and talk to him. Gabriella just sat there shaking her head back and forth slowly while looking down at the comforter that she was sitting on. Her wall was being brought down by her own mother. She closed her eyes and tried to see him, but she couldn't find any memories that were not from after her accident, that was the only time that she could picture him with her.

"God, why can't I do this?" Gabriella proclaimed and lay back on the bed angrily. She was tired of fighting everyone about this. Why was it so hard for people to believe her when she said that she didn't know this person? How many times was it going to take for people to stop nagging her about him?

"It'll come back sweetie, just let him talk to you tomorrow." Maria spoke softly so that she did not aggravate Gabriella. "Do this for me honey, this is the only thing that I have asked of you since the accident, and will be the last thing. I just really need you to do this for me, for your friends, and for Troy." Gabriella opened her tear filled eyes and gazed up at her mother. Maria really wanted her to do this.

She spoke with a small shaky voice, letting the wall crumble easily around her feet, "I know that I'm hurting him, I can see it in his eyes." She let tears trickle down her face slowly as her mother squeezed her hands gently trying to comfort her daughter. Maria didn't say anything, but Gabriella knew by the look in her eyes that Maria was asking for an answer. Gabriella took in a deep breath before nodding her head slightly. "Okay, I'll do it."

Maria broke out into a huge grin before pulling her daughter up into the sitting position and engulfing her in a huge hug. "Gracias hija!" Maria sang sweetly into her daughter's ear while holding onto her firmly. "This is going to mean so much to everyone Gabriella, thank you." Gabriella smiled a little knowing that this was going to make her mother very happy.

* * *

Troy was sitting in the park on the bench next to the playground, watching as the children ran around playing in their own little universe without a care in the world. He missed those days where he was carefree, where he didn't have to worry about anything but making Gabriella happy. But those days have been gone for awhile and he was starting to forget what it felt like to be happy, he was constantly in a daze, hoping that he would wake up and that none of this would be real.

"Hey." A soft voice interrupted his thoughts as he looked up to see that Gabriella was standing in front of him in a pair of light washed destroyed jeans and a black paint splattered baby tee with her hair down in her natural voluptuous curls. Troy smiled a little as he looked over her body slowly, taking in everything that he was missing about her. Her incredibly soft skin, the subtle curves of her hips, her plump lips… God he wanted to kiss her so bad.

"Gabriella…" Troy spoke in the same soft tone that she did and scooted over on the bench so that she could sit down next to him. "I can't believe that you did this." Troy smiled and looked over at her. She was avoiding looking at his eyes, and preoccupied herself with watching the kids play on the playground like he was doing just moments before.

"I don't really feel like sitting, can we walk?" Gabriella said and glanced over into Troy's eyes. They were darker than the last time that she saw them, almost as if they were defeated. He smiled once again, but only with his lips because it didn't reach his eyes, and stood up. He was wearing a pair of dark washed jeans and a black hoodie that said _Wildcats _in bright red letters. She followed his lead and stood up next to him and they started to walk in a random direction. She was debating whether or not to break the silence between them, and eventually started to speak softly. "My mom said that we were close." She didn't know where to start and she had so many questions, but wasn't sure how to ask.

"Yeah, we were. We spent almost every minute together when we weren't dating, and then just got closer when we did." Troy didn't look at Gabriella, but instead watched everything around them as they continued the slow stroll through the park. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a deep breath, Chad went through all this trouble, so he was going to cherish the time that he had to spend with her.

"Um, how long were we dating?" she asked nervously and looked over at Troy who was still avoiding her eyes.

Without hesitation, Troy answered, "three years, five months, and twenty-seven days." He looked over at her and bore deep into her eyes for the first time in a very long time. He could see the confusion etched into her eyes as she looked at him. "Well that is how long it is until today."

"Troy, how did you know that, I mean exactly?" Gabriella stopped and faced him with questions written all over her face. Troy stopped and faced her too, his hands still in his pockets from the crisp air. He took a deep breathe and didn't break the connection that their eyes had made.

"Do you really want to know Gabriella, or are you just doing this for your mom and your friends? I don't want to be made into a charity case." Troy said sheltering himself from more pain. He didn't want to be hurt again, even though it seemed that nothing that happened could make him feel any worse.

She paused for a minute and looked down at her feet once again. "I do Troy, I want to know." She spoke softly as she slowly brought her gaze up to meet Troy's again. He smiled a little, but this time it reached his eyes a little more than before, but it was still not a very happy smile.

"Because you are all I think about Gabriella. Every waking moment of every day, I see you and think of you. I can't get you out of my head no matter how much I try. I don't want you out of my head but since you don't remember me, I think it would be better that way." Troy confessed and continued to bear into her eyes without breaking the connection. Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion at what troy had just said. He couldn't get her out of his head. Maybe that meant that she did love him like her mother had told her, but she was not going to let anyone know that, especially Troy.

"I don't understand Troy, if I loved you like everyone says, then why are you the only one that I can't remember?" Gabriella still didn't break the connection that was holding the two together, fearing that it would break him even further if she did.

"I don't know Gabi, but I wish that it wasn't this way." Troy finally broke the gaze that the two were holding and looked down. Troy turned and started to continue their walk in no general direction. He was hurting the more that they discussed what they used to be.

But that was not the only question that was burning in her mind. She was extremely attracted to him in a physical way right now, and she wasn't sure if that was normal, or not. Should she be attracted to him, was it a sign that something was between them? Or was it just because he looked so good in what he was wearing?

"Umm Troy…" Gabriella hesitantly said and looked up at him. Troy turned his head to face her.

"Yeah?" he responded in a normal tone. Gabriella could feel the temperature raise about twenty degrees just thinking about what she was about to ask.

"Am I uh… am I a virgin?" her face immediately turned beat red as Troy smiled and laughed a little. How could he be so calm when she was completely freaking out about this? She didn't even know him that well and she was asking him if she was a virgin. How stupid could she be?

"No, you're not." He said and brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck as his face turned a little pink. Now she didn't feel as bad for blushing before, now he was embarrassed just as she was.

"Was it you? Were you the one who, you know…" her brain was screaming at her to stop talking, but her mouth kept going. Deep down she wanted to know everything that she could, and this is something that her mother wouldn't have known, so she need to find out now. Her cheeks turned an even deeper pink as he looked at her again.

"Yeah, it was… your virginity belongs to me." Troy said and looked down at the ground in front of his feet. He wasn't sure how she was going to take this news. Finding out that the guy that she thought she barely knew was the one to take away her innocence would have to be hard to handle. Gabriella just kept on walking, letting the silence overcome the two of them while she processed the new information.

"Was I your first?" Gabriella asked after about five minutes of silent walking.

Troy was hesitant before he answered this question. "No, but you are the only one that I felt something with, and it actually meant something to me." Troy paused for a minute before continuing. "I mean, there were two other times before you, but I was drunk at a party both times, and it was when we were still just friends. I woke up in the morning completely regretting it, and told the girls that it was only a one night stand and nothing more." Troy confessed and Gabriella nodded her head a little. "I haven't been with anyone else but you since we started dating." Troy said after she didn't respond for a few minutes, thinking that she was freaked out by the new information

Gabriella processed the information, and decided to change the subject, this felt too personal and she didn't want to pry. So, she thought of something else to talk about. Since she was old enough to realize it, she had wanted to go to the senior prom, and have the time of her life. She would go in a long gown, and the guy would get her a corsage that matched her dress, and a limo to top it off with. So, she decided to find out about her real prom. "Troy, did we go to prom together?"

Troy laughed a little remembering the great time that they had at their senior prom. There was a lot of dancing and grinding, she made him hard in about the first two minutes of dancing, but they kept going until the very end along with all of their friends. Their whole group got hotel rooms in the nearby Hilton and they stayed the night there, but no one got a lot of sleep. After all, it was their senior prom, and everyone knows that it is the dance that you get laid after. Then the next morning, a very tired but in love group of teenagers left for their prom weekend trip. They went camping by the lake, and had the time of their lives. He and Gabriella slept in a tent together away from everyone else so that they could have some privacy. It was one of the highlights of Troy's life and he was pretty sure that it would be one of Gabriella's too if she could remember it.

"Yeah we did, we had the best time." Troy smiled again. "After, we went camping around a lake, and it was amazing." He looked down at Gabriella and smiled, she was smiling too, but he could tell that she wanted more. Going to Prom is a big deal for girls because they like to get dressed up and act like princesses, very naughty princesses, for a weekend with no parents, just their boyfriends and them unsupervised.

"What did my dress look like?" There was a larger smiled plastered onto her lips as she looked up into Troy's eyes like she was a girl on Christmas, and he was the one holding her presents. "I always dreamt of my senior prom when I was younger, and I can't believe that I can't remember it." It had become darker outside and the wind started and it was getting colder. Troy saw her shiver and wrap her arms around herself, so he pulled the hoodie over his head and held it out to her, leaving him in a white V-neck t-shirt. She smiled a little and took it. "Thanks Troy." She said before pulling it over her head, his intoxicating scent filling her nose.

"No problem." He smiled a little too before he scrunched his eyebrows while he was thinking back to what she was wearing. "It was a floor length gown and strapless. It was a peach or a light pink, but your skin glowed in it whatever color it was. And it had like gems sewn on the chest area." He brought his hand up to his chest and drew an upside down triangle marking where the gems were placed. "… and was tight around your waist, and then went out a little and the bottom part was like waves, or ruffle-like things. I have pictures at ou… I mean my house." Gabriella was too shocked to notice his little slip when he almost said our house.

She had seen the dress that Troy had just described; no she had worn the dress that Troy had described. It was on her during the weird dream that she had with the faceless hero and the tree house. No, that couldn't have been the dress that she was wearing in the dream. She couldn't remember her prom, so the dress just had to be a coincidence, it had to be.

**Here you go guys, it was a longer wait than I anticipated, but I finally got this out. I think it is the longest chapter yet! I am leaving for vacation tomorrow so I will not be here for about 3 weeks, so I won't be able to update anything. But please feel free to send me a message and I will answer them when I get back.**

**I am still planning on having 15 chapters, and I think that it is pretty much set in stone so there will probably be 5 more chapters to this story. I want to thank everyone for putting up with my sluggishness in updating this story.**

**Please review everyone, I love to read them! Let me now what you think about it! **

**Peace out everyone, and enjoy your summer, talk to you when I get back.**


	11. Let Me Go

_Do You Remember? Chapter 11_

Troy was not looking forward to tonight; he had to go to his parents' house for a family dinner. But that wasn't the worst part, it wasn't just his parents and him, it was his extended family including his little cousins. He loved his cousins a lot, don't get him wrong, but when all of them run up and pounce on him at once, that's when it started to get old. All of them look up to Troy as a God-like figure, they all do everything that he does, and want to be just like him since he is the oldest Bolton cousin. All of it together gets a little overwhelming, but this time it was worse because he felt like his world was crumbling quickly beneath his feet.

He sighed as he pulled on his dark wash denim jeans and buttoned them. He grabbed the towel off of the bed and rubbed it in his hair to try and dry it out from his shower. He then threw the towel back on the bed and walked over to the closet to pull out a shirt, which ended up being a plain white V-neck tee. Troy walked down the stairs to the kitchen and picked up his keys and his wallet from the counter and a can of red bull before heading out the door and climbing in his car. He had practically been living on red bull because of the lack of sleep. It almost felt as if he didn't have a purpose, he was just going through the motions without heading in a certain direction and he wasn't making any progress.

After arriving at his parents' house, he braced himself at the door, waiting to be attacked by seven pairs of tiny hands. There were three girls and four boys, and they were all under the age of eight. He took a deep breathe and plastered a fake smile onto his lips before pressing the doorbell. As soon as the ring echoed through the house, he heard the screaming of the children _'Troy!'… 'Troy is here!'… 'get him!' _Apparently, Troy was the only one that hadn't made an appearance at the party yet. His mother opened the door and all the little kids rushed out the door and grabbed onto his legs before he even took a step into the house. "Hey guys… Do you want to let me in the house?" he laughed a little and placed his hands on the top of their heads lovingly. They all smiled up at him and grabbed his hands to pull him in the house so that he could spend hours upon hours playing with them.

Just Great.

"Troy honey, come in the kitchen." He heard his mother call as he finally got away from the children and sat down. He sighed and pulled himself back up and walked towards the kitchen. He entered and all of the older ladies of the family were sitting in there socializing with each other. "Could you give us a hand with setting up the table for dinner?" his mother asked as she pulled on the oven mitts to take the dinner out of the oven.

"Yeah I guess." Troy answered and started to walk towards the china closet with all of the fancy dishes that they used when there were people over. He grabbed the plates and a couple of the glasses and walked into the dining room. When he set the plates in a stack on the table, one of the younger girls came in, her name was Andrea and she was five. "Hey baby." Troy said and squatted down so that he was somewhat eye level with her. "What's the matter sweetie?" he asked as he saw that she wasn't her normal happy self.

"Eric won't play with me." Eric was her brother, and he was three years older than her. "He's to busy with the other boys playing cars." She looked down at the ground. Troy new that he had to find something for her to do so that she didn't start crying and that took her mind off of her brother.

"Well, how about you help me set the table for Aunt Lucille. And as a bonus, you can sit with me at dinner." A huge smile grew on her face as she nodded enthusiastically at her older cousin. Troy laughed a little and grabbed a plate off of the table. "Alright, put both hands out." She did as he said and stuck both arms out. "I want you to carry the plate with both hands as tight as you can so that you don't drop it." She nodded her head and grabbed onto the plate with both hands tightly. "Now, put one of these plates at each chair okay."

"yep." She giggled and made her way to the first chair. Troy smiled as he saw her struggle to reach the table because she was so small. He walked over to her and picked her up under her arms so that she could reach the top of the table. She smiled and placed it down softly on the table. "Troy?"

"Yeah munchkin…" he said and turned her around in his arms so that she was looking at him. She scrunched her eyes brows together and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Where's Gabi?" Andrea asked and clasped her hands behind his neck so she didn't fall backwards. Leave it up to the little child to bring up something that even the adults didn't have the courage to. Troy closed his eyes and took a deep breathe so that he wouldn't break.

"She couldn't come today Andrea. But she told me to tell you that she loves all of you and that she wishes that she could be here. I wish she was here too Princess." Troy said and smiled a little down at the young girl wearing a light purple dress.

"Okay dokay Troy." She was so carefree and innocent, Troy wished that life continued to stay that way for her when she grew up, but from experience, he knew that it probably wouldn't. Troy kissed her lightly on the forehead before setting her down on the ground. She skipped over to the stack of plates and got another one, holding it tight with both hands. He smiled and walked into the kitchen to get the silverware. He returned to find that all the plates were in their places.

"Andrea." He said and she ran over to him. "Here, hold these and give me one when I ask alright."

"Okay." She said cheerfully and took the spoons from Troy's hands into her much smaller ones.

"Alright baby, I need one." Troy said and smiled at her. She pulled one out and handed it to Troy. He took it and looked at the place setting in front of him. He couldn't remember what side the spoon went on. Gabriella was always the one to put the silverware in their places at these family gatherings. He closed his eyes and tried to remember what she tells him every single time that they set the table together, but all he could picture was her smiling face.

"Twroy, what you doing?" Andrea asked and looked up at her favorite cousin with confused eyes. Troy just smiled and guessed what side they went on, hoping that he was right. The two of them finished setting the table, and Andrea went back to play with her brother Eric and the other younger Bolton cousins. Troy on the other hand just wanted to get away from everything. He snuck out the back door to the basketball court, his place to think.

He picked up the ball lying on the ground and ran his hand over the bumpy surface. The familiar feel of being in control washed over him. He knew that as long as the ball was in his hands, it would be safe. He liked being in control. He dribbled the ball twice on the ground and jumped to take a shot. He made it, that was the first shot that he had made since the accident. He got his rebound, and shot again. To his surprise it went in again.

An hour later, Troy's father walked out onto the court and crossed his arms across his large chest. "Troy, what are you doing out here son?" he asked while taking slow steps towards his son. "There is a party going on and you shouldn't be out here."

"I just needed to clear my head." Troy said and threw up another shot, this one bouncing off of the rim. "There's a lot going on right now, and I couldn't handle being around all the people." Troy said and walked to pick up the ball that was lying still on the ground.

"You need to forget about her Troy, you're just wasting your time. Gabriella is not going to remember, she forgot about you so just walk away." Troy dropped the ball that was in his hands and looked at his father with pure disgust. He couldn't believe that that had just come out of his father's mouth.

"Wh…what did you just say?" Troy said in disbelief. His own flesh and blood was turning against him.

"You heard me Troy, you need to forget about your past and focus on the future." Jack said firmly and without hesitation.

"Dad, Gabriella is my past, my present, and my future. None of it works without her. How the hell could you say that I need to leave her behind?" Troy's anger was rising inside of him, and there was no stopping it.

"Watch your mouth Troy, I'm just saying that you need to look at all the options here. You can't let a little crush stop your whole world." That was it, in his many years of knowing his father; never in any of them did Troy think that he would turn that quickly. He loved Gabriella as a daughter since the first time that Troy brought her over, and now he I saying leave her behind? Troy didn't understand.

"What the fuck are you talking about? This is not a crush dad; I've loved her since the moment that I saw her. We've been having sex since we won the championship my junior year. I can't see myself with anyone but her. Every time that I close my eyes, her face is smiling back at me." Troy was outraged at his father. How could someone that has seen how happy Gabriella makes him suddenly tell him to leave her behind?

"Troy, I know what's best for you, I'm your father!" Jack Bolton almost screamed at his son who was shaking his head no very slowly.

"Correction, you were my father, now I want nothing to do with you." Troy said and walked back into the house to find his mother. He went into the kitchen and spotted her. "Mom, I need to go… I can't be here anymore." He said and turned to walk out the front door.

"Troy, what's wrong honey?" Lucille asked as she ran out the door after him.

"Your husband is a dick and I can't be around him. I'm sorry." He slammed the car door shut after he got in and brought the engine to life. He backed out of the driveway and sped off in no general direction, leaving his mother speechless on the front lawn. Without anywhere particular to go, Troy just went... he made a turn if he felt like it and went straight when he didn't. Little did he know, he was taking the pathway to Gabriella's house that was programmed into his head. Before he knew it he was parked outside their back yard and leaning his head back in the driver's seat with the windows down.

He just sat there and thought about what he was going to do now. He had tried everything that he could think of to get Gabriella to remember, and then to get her out of his head so he could be happy for a little while before returning to reality. That failed miserably, everywhere that he looked, she was there.

_One more kiss could be the best thing  
But one more lie could be the worst  
And all these thoughts are never resting  
And you're not something I deserve  
_

Oh great, now he was hearing her singing. It's final, he was going insane. He just couldn't get her out of his head. But god did she have a perfect voice. He closed his eyes and listened to her.

_In my head there's only you now  
This world falls on me  
In this world there's real and make believe  
And this seems real to me_

His eyes opened as the voice didn't seem to fade; in fact it seemed to get stronger. He looked up towards her balcony, and sure enough, she was sitting on the wood of the deck with her i-pod in listening to music and singing along like she did when they were younger. He watched as her eyes were closed and she wasn't holding back. Troy opened his door and got out, standing with the car between him and Gabriella. He leaned his forearms on the top of the car and studied her hoodie and boxer clad body, she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen.

He didn't know what compelled him to do so, but before he knew it, he was walking into their backyard and standing at the base of the tree, the pathway to her balcony for him. He listened as her voice continued to carry the song with perfect pitch, and began to climb the tree like he did so many other times before that night.

_You love me but you don't know who I am  
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand  
And you love me but you don't know who I am  
So let me go  
Let me go_

He reached her balcony and put his foot on her railing and jumped onto the wood of the porch. Her eyes opened quickly and she looked at him scared. She pulled the headphones out of her ears and stared blankly at him. "Wh… what are you doing here?" she said and placed the i-pod in her hoodie pocket.

"Don't you think that I should be the one singing that song?" he asked and knelt down in front of her. She wasn't pushing him away yet, she seemed to relax in his presence.

"Why?" She asked and pulled her legs up to her chest. She bit her plump bottom lip and her eyes twinkled as she looked at Troy straight in the eyes. He closed his and took a deep breathe before singing back to her while holding a heated stare between them.

_You love me but you don't know who I am  
I'm torn between this life I lead and where I stand  
And you love me but you don't know who I am  
So let me go  
Let me go_

Tears formed in her eyes and fell down her cheeks slowly. Hs voice was perfectly in tune, and it felt to her that he was singing about more than just the words. There was so much emotion that he was holding back, scared to let her see what he was really feeling. But when singing, he poured every last drop of feeling into her through his eyes.

Those blue eyes.

"Gabi, I just want to talk with you." He said softly and she looked back into his powerful gaze. " Please… I can't do this anymore, I'm falling apart." He closed his eyes again and whispered softly repeating the lyrics to the song. "And no matter how hard I try/ I can't escape these things inside I know/ I know/ When all the pieces fall apart/ You will be the only one who knows."

"Okay" she nodded her head slowly and he sighed in relief. He sat beside her and leaned his head back against the side of the house swallowing back the tears. She hesitantly placed her hand on his jean clad thigh and rubbed her thumb in small circles. His eyes opened and connected with her deep brown ones.

He could tell by the way that she was looking at him that she wanted to know. She was confused and was seeking a route to known ground. She was lost and wanted to be found, but it might take some time for her to accept it.

"Troy, what's wrong? Tell me…" her voice shook a little as she spoke, making herself vulnerable to him. Her hand was still resting on his thigh, burning his skin from the contact. He wanted to touch her body, skin to skin but would have to hold back so he didn't scare her.

"My dad's an ass, my mom's in denial, and my whole family is fucking against me." He said and looked straight ahead into the tree that he had climbed up. Gabriella moved slightly closer to him, and squeezed his thigh with her hand comfortingly. Troy inhaled and his nose filled with her sweet scent. It was called "Pink Ice" by Rue21. He had picked it out for her about a year ago, because he could.

"Troy, it's gonna be okay." He looked at her and noticed for the first time that she was wearing one of his old basketball hoodies. It was one that he thought he lost but found out that she had stolen it from him about two weeks after. Troy had just let her keep it after he found out. He smiled and nodded a little.

"Yeah, I think it is." They sat in a comfortable silence for awhile, and before long, she had fallen asleep. He picked her up bridal style and laid her on her bed softly and covered her before exiting her room through the balcony doors, and going down the tree. He got in his car and drove towards his house. Little did he know, her mother had seen him leave, and smiled that her daughter was letting him in. This is what she wanted from the beginning.

LINE!

Gabriella woke up in her bed, not remembering how she got there. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked around with tired eyes. She knew that she and Troy sat on her balcony and talked last night, but she couldn't remember going to bed. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, and yawned.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and was going to go to the bathroom, but heard voices coming from downstairs. She opened her door and stood at the top of the steps where she could see the back of someone and her mother talking in the kitchen. Gabriella stood there and listened to the conversation.

"The doctor said that there still aren't really any improvements, but maybe we just haven't found that one thing yet." Her mother said and sat down at the counter.

"Yeah…" The other person said and she realized right away that it was Troy. She looked down at herself and realized that she looked awful. She turned back towards her room, but decided that she didn't want to miss the conversation, so she stayed. "She let me sit and talk with her last night." Troy said and her mother smiled. Maybe Troy was the one that put her in her bed…

"Yeah I know…" answered her mother with a slight smirk on her face. "I saw you leaving last night. You always preferred to get to her room through the balcony even when you two were just friends." Troy put his hand on the back of his neck and rubbed it nervously.

"Uh, yeah." He faked a laugh and put his hand back in front of him on the counter. Gabriella couldn't help but smile at this. She could almost bet that he was blushing. Wait, why was she smiling? Why did she want to hear what they were talking about?

"I think that she has a feeling that she knows you, and that there was something between you two, but she's scared to admit it." Her mother said and Gabriella scrunched her eyebrows together. She didn't think that, or at least she didn't realize that she did. She finally left the hallway and went back and sat on her bed, falling back into the soft mattress. She had a lot of thinking to do.

Line!

Troy went home that night after walking around the city for awhile and changed into a pair of black, red, and white plaid pajama pants and no shirt on. He was watching reruns on Fresh Prince, but not really paying attention. The clock was going extra slow that night. It was only 9:40, and there was no way that he would be able to fall asleep before midnight. The seconds were passing like minutes and the minutes were passing like hours. He couldn't stop thinking about a certain brunette and it was driving him crazy.

_Ring…_

Troy looked up and sighed. Someone was at the door, which would involve him getting up and answering the door. It was probably Chad or Sharpay coming to make him feel better. He pushed himself up and walked towards the entrance to the house. He unlocked it and opened the door without looking through the peep hole…

"Oh my God…" Troy stood shocked, frozen in place.

**Can you guess who it is? Haha… there is really nothing I can say that would make any of you hate me less for making you wait so long. This is literally he first time that I have had time to write anything, but I should have made more time much much sooner to write this. I might go back and touch it up later, because I haven't read over it entirely yet. **

**Let me know what you think even if you absolutely hate it…**

**Oh, and this story was nominated for best tragedy by "The Wildcat Story Awards". So I think that you guys should go and vote for me :)**

**Love you all and please comment!**

**Song: "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down**


	12. Racing hearts

**Thank you guys for being so understanding that I had a lot of things going on, and I tried my best to get this out a lot sooner than the last one. I hope you guys like the way I decided to go with the story, and please leave a comment to tell me what you think. I will go back later and edit it... I am really busy at the moment.**

_Do You Remember? Chapter 12_

Troy looked up and sighed. Someone was at the door, which involved him getting up and answering the door. It was probably Chad or Sharpay coming to make him feel better. He pushed himself up and walked towards the entrance to the house. He unlocked it and opened the door without looking through the peep hole…

"Oh my God…" Troy stood there shocked, frozen in place. "Gabriella?" He said and smiled brightly. She was wearing a pair of dark destroyed jeans, a white loose tank, and a light brown leather-like jacket with long dark necklaces. Her hair was down in perfect light waves and she had on natural makeup. Troy looked down at his attire, which was only his plaid pajama pants and nothing else. She stood there on the doorstep nervously while crossing her arms over her stomach. She was avoiding eye contact with him.

"I…" She started to say and then looked up into his eyes while biting her bottom lip between her pearly white teeth. She spoke in a tiny voice, "I don't know why I'm here… I should probably go." She looked down from his powerful gaze and turned away from him to walk back to her car. Troy reached out and grabbed her wrist softly, turning her back to face him.

"Don't go." He whispered softly while gazing into her eyes. This was the first time that she had approached him, and he wasn't going to let her leave like that. This is what he wanted since she had come back from Florida. This could be the beginning of her accepting him again, letting him get close to her again.

"Troy, my mom doesn't know where I am. She's going to flip out when she realizes that I'm not home." Gabriella argued and looked down at her black painted toe nails. No, Troy was having none of this; he wasn't going to let her slip away, not again. He knew her mother pretty well, and if she knew that Gabriella was at Troy's house in spite of what was happening, she would be more than ecstatic.

"Then tell me why you came?" He said and dropped her arm slowly; missing the tingling in his skin that she gave him. "If you were just going to leave… why would you waste the gas… I know you too well Gabi." Troy crossed his arms across his strong chest and leaned up against the doorframe.

"I don't know Troy, I saw you playing basketball the other day, and I just felt something pulling me to come here. I don't know why or how, but something was calling me." Troy smiled and thought to himself, 'maybe it's the fact that this is her home…'. Gabriella crossed her arms over her small stomach and shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other, once again avoiding his eyes. Troy leaned in the door frame and studied the beautiful image of his wife-to-be-that-had-no-idea-how-much-he-wanted-to-kiss-her-at-that-moment as she swayed back and forth.

"You wanted answers didn't you?" He asked in a husky voice and looked as the expression on her face changed. She blushed a little and then nodded her head slowly; she was embarrassed that the guy she had been pushing away is the one that she turned to to get the answers that she was looking for.

"Maybe, I don't know… I'm so confused and don't know what to believe anymore." Gabriella explained and continued to shift her weight back and forth nervously while still biting her bottom lip. Troy smiled at her demeanor and stepped aside.

"Come in." Troy said as he moved out of the way. She stepped nervously into the house looking around at how it was decorated, the warm colors and soft fabrics appealed to her perfectly; it is exactly what she would have wanted in her house when she got to that point. Troy led her through the house to the kitchen, where he put on a pot of coffee and told her to wait there. "I'll be right back Gabs, I'm going to go get a shirt to put on." It was at this moment that she first realized that he had a tattoo above his left pectoral that was Chinese, she had a feeling that she had seen this before, but couldn't figure out where.

"Okay." She smiled softly as Troy left the room. Gabriella looked around at the golden colors warming up the room. The stone tiles accenting the granite counter tops perfectly; there was no way that Troy had designed this himself. This was definitely the work of a female.

After Troy came back down in a black V-neck T-shirt that clung to every ripple in his toned body, they talked about random things that were going on in the world: the war, the economy, and basic small talk. They had each had a few cups of coffee and Gabriella was really opening up to him. Surprised as he was, he cherished every moment that she would giggle or smile, trace the top of her mug with her pointer finger, and wet her plump lips with her tongue.

"So.. umm… do you want to see the house?" Troy asked nervously as the two of them were running out of things to talk about without it getting to deep. It was the first thing that popped into his head, and he hoped deep inside that something in the house might jog her memory. She saw these things everyday for the past months while they had lived together, something was bound to look familiar.

"Yeah, I guess…" She smiled and stood up from the seat at the counter. She was still wearing her jacket and her bohemian sandals that she wore over. Troy smiled at the differences in their wardrobe. He looked like a complete slob, and she was put together as always.

"Gabriella, take your shoes and jacket off and stay awhile." Troy smiled a little and walked over to her side of the counter. She timidly smiled and pushed her shoulders back, and let the material of her jacket slide down her arms. It left in her in the white tank top, showing her golden arms. She then leaned over and undid the strap on the back of her sandal, taking it off her foot. She did the same thing with the other shoe.

"Umm, what should I do with these?" Gabriella asked coyly as she held her shoes and jacket in her arms. Troy just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Anywhere… by the door, right where your standing, it really doesn't matter to me." Gabriella giggled a little, causing Troy to close his eyes and take it in, and just set her jacket on the chair she was sitting in and then her shoes on top of it. Troy turned to walk out of the room, and headed to the living room with Gabriella right behind him.

Every room that the pair entered, Gabriella would say how much she loved the design, and that she wanted her house to be just like it. Troy would hold back is pleas for her to remember every time that she would say these things. '_it is your house Gabs..' _or '_you did design this…'._ She was killing him slowly, eating away at his aching heart without even realizing it.

The last room that the pair had to go to was the bedroom. Not just any bedroom, the one that the two of them shared and made love in more times that either could count. Troy couldn't decide if he was going to show her the room at all, or just bypass it entirely. It would just bring him even more pain than he had already felt seeing her react to all the other rooms that weren't as important as this one. Their bedroom was a shrine to what they had, it is where a couple spends the most time together.

He had made up his mind. In order to shield his almost entirely shattered heart, he was just going to walk past the closed door and not show it to her. He made his way slowly down the hall, trying to act nonchalant about not going into that room, but she didn't follow his lead. Gabriella stopped outside of the room in front of the closed door and crossed her arms nervously again across her stomach. "Troy, what's this room?" She asked in a quiet tone, uneasy about how he would respond to that question. Was the door shut for a reason, was she overstepping her welcome, and was she not supposed to know what was behind the door? But all the questions did were making her more curious to what the room held.

Troy stopped and sighed quietly so that she couldn't hear him; he turned around and smiled a little. Troy nervously placed his hand on the back of his neck and stepped back to the door with her. "Oh umm, it's nothing really," he had just completely lied to her… "You can check it out if you want." Gabriella smiled and placed her hand on the doorknob. She didn't know why she insisted on going into the room, but her body was acting without her mind. On impulse, her wrist turned and she heard the click of the lock being opened before pushing forward lightly and watched as the door swung open at the hinges revealing the hidden room.

Gabriella's jaw dropped at the sight of the gorgeous décor of the room. It was sophisticated, yet not too fancy that it was unlivable. It definitely had a sexy appeal to it. The walls were a deep red color, bringing in the sense of passion to the room; while the comforter was bright white, almost too white which brought in a sense of purity and innocence to the room. And there were the black pillows that showed the deep lust and naughtiness at the same time. Gabriella stepped into the room, inhaling the sweet scent of Troy and closing her eyes for a second. She would positively recognize that scent anywhere. It was overwhelming and intoxicating but Gabriella loved every second of it.

Troy watched from the doorway as she stepped into their most precious room that they shared. She took slow steps in the room, soaking everything in that was around her. She ran her fingers across the comforter and took in the softness of it, the comfort that they had shared together for so long. She looked at the TV, and ran her fingers along the top of the dresser that it was sitting on. They had watched countless movies together in this room… if it was sad, he would comfort her; if it was funny, they would laugh together; and if it was scary, he would protect her.

She wandered around the room until she looked into the bathroom. There was a whirlpool bathtub and a separate shower with glass doors separating it from the rest of the room. She loved the soft blue and beige colors of the bathroom. After taking in the whole room from the soft and fluffy carpet to the ceiling fan, she realized something. There was no way that a guy designed this by himself. This was definitely the work of a woman. She turned around and faced him.

"Troy, you didn't design this yourself did you? This whole house is so put together and…" she trailed off. Her mind came to an abrupt halt and looked over at Troy. Her eyes met his in a fiery stare, blue meeting brown once again that night.

"No Gabriella, I didn't." Troy said softly and looked down at the ground. She was the one that designed the whole house. But there was no way that he could tell her that without scaring her off.

Gabriella felt the pit of her stomach drop as her thoughts continued, finally piecing together a portion of the puzzle. Troy is always sad, he is living in a huge 3 bedroom and 3 bathroom house by himself, the decoration in this house is completely put together and clearly done by a woman, the taste and style of the house matched hers completely and was basically a picture of what her dream house would be, and everyone kept insisting that she was in love with Troy. No, this could not be happening. What she was thinking was going to be totally wrong; it had to be… there was no way that this was going to be true.

"Troy…" her voice cracked as Troy connected their eyes again, this time neither of them dropped their gaze. "This is ou…our bedroom is… isn't it?" Troy didn't have to say a word, as soon as he dropped his gaze to the floor; she knew that she was right. Gabriella wasn't sure what came over her, but she all of a sudden felt vulnerable, extremely vulnerable and the tears started to fall from her eyes nonstop.

"Gabi baby, don't cry please…" he said in a loving voice, he didn't like it when she cried. Troy took a few strides and closed the distance between them. He carefully, so that he didn't startle her, wrapped his arms around her waist and shoulders, and tucked her head under his chin. She placed her arms between their torsos with her hands resting on her chest, and continued to cry into his cotton shirt. He slowly rocked her back and forth, taking in her sweet scent, the feel of her under his fingertips, and the way that her body fit perfectly with his.

They stood their in each others arms for the first time in a really long time, since the accident had first happened. Troy had felt her body finally relax into his like when she still knew who he was, and a small smile spread across his lips genuinely for the first time too. He closed his eyes and took one last inhalation of her intoxicating scent and started to release the hug that he had started. Gabriella immediately tensed up and looked up at him through her red, watery eyes. "Troy, please…" she trailed off and he knew that she didn't want him to let go.

Troy took her hand, and walked over to the bed. He sat down on it, and leaned against the backboard getting himself comfortable. Troy then grabbed Gabriella's hand and pulled her onto the bed too. She sat between his legs sideways, and had her knees up, with her feet on the other side of Troy's leg. She laid her head on his chest and pulled her arms close to her body. "Shhh…" Troy ran his arm up and down her arm slowly, as her silent sobs continued to soak into his shirt.

"Why don't I know you?" Gabriella spoke in a very soft voice that was barely audible even in the stillness of the house. Troy closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headboard. He had been wondering the exact same thing since the day that she woke up in the hospital. Why was he basically the only thing that she couldn't remember? What had he done to deserve this?

"I don't know Gabs, I really don't. I mean, you are the most important thing in my life, and I was the same to you, or so I thought I was until the accident. It killed me, and is still killing me that I was the only thing that you couldn't remember." Troy confessed quietly as well, matching her tone.

"Why is everything so fucked up all the time?" tears started to form in her eyes again as she thought about the events of the last few months. How had she turned from being so completely scared of the intensity of Troy, to sitting in his lap being comforted by his strong body and his loving words? She had judged him before she even knew him in a sense, little did she know… she was the reason for the intensity that plagued his figure for so long and she didn't even realize it. "God, I can't believe everything that I've done to you, continually pushing you away all this time." She reached up and wiped some of the tears from her cheeks. "I wouldn't be surprised if you don't want me anymore."

"Gabriella, don't ever say that! I never want to hear those words leave your lips again. I want you, and love you, and just want to be with you no matter what the circumstances, or what you've done to me." Troy placed his finger gently under her chin, and turned her face so that she was looking directly into his eyes. He said in a voice that could only be heard between the two, "You mean everything to me, and I am not going to give up on us ever."

Gabriella nodded slightly and laid her head gently against his chest once more. He tightened his grip around her small body and rested his chin on the top of her head with his eyes closed. He thought back to what happened last night, when she was singing on the balcony. The song had been stuck in his head and the words had been playing on loop through his head all day.

_One more kiss could be the best thing  
But one more lie could be the worst  
And all these thoughts are never resting  
And you're not something I deserve  
_

He didn't know what it was about the song, but it never stopped playing in his head. One more kiss could be the best thing, one more lie could be the worst…. One more kiss could be the best thing, one more lie… Troy's eyes shot open as he realized something: _One more kiss could be the best thing_. Maybe if he was to kiss her, she would remember. Troy thought back, and never once after the accident did he kiss her. Not at the hospital, or after when she returned home. He was dying to, but he hadn't. Maybe that was the key to getting all of her memories back.

All he had to do was kiss her, but with the wall that she built around her up, there was no way that he would be able to kiss her. He could ask, and maybe not get shot down, or even if she did turn him down, he could persuade her because he knows that she wants to know who she is. "Can I try something?" he said softy into her smooth and soft hair, his lips speaking without the consensus of his mind.

Gabriella pulled back a little and sat up. Her eyes were stained red from crying and there were still the tear paths on her face. "Yeah I guess." She responded gently and wiped her cheeks. Troy still had his arm around her lower back, resting his hand on her thigh softly as she sat up a little more between his legs.

"You know how the doctor said that it could be one thing that causes all the memories to flood back into your mind?" Troy said nervously. This was a really big moment; it could either be their last kiss, or the beginning of many more kisses. He hoped and prayed that it would be the first of many more.

"Yeah, why?" she asked and connected their eyes. Troy's fingers danced lightly on her jean covered thigh as he gained the courage to kiss her. It was not easy for him, he didn't want it to be his last, but if it was, he wanted it to be amazing.

"I'm gonna kiss you Gabi." Troy said softly and rested his elbow that was not around her waist on her knee and lightly ran his thumb of that hand across her cheek. Her body froze at this, as if suddenly becoming uncomfortable with the situation.

"Troy, I don't think that…" Gabriella started to say before getting cut off by Troy. He was not going to let her stop him. He was determined to kiss her, and was going to get what he wanted. He had a gut feeling that this is what he was supposed to do. This is why she had come to his house tonight, It was fate that she was singing the song the night before, it was a hidden sign but it only became clear to him now. He was almost positive that it was going to work, and he wasn't going to let her stupid wall get in his way.

"Gabi, it's only one little kiss. It either works or it doesn't." He states firmly and held the gaze between her eyes and his. This was a crucial moment and he needed her to trust him.

"Troy…' She started, but her shook his head no and cut her off again.

"You said that I could try something, and this is what I want to try. We'll never know if we don't. Don't you want to know what happened in the years that you can't remember? Don't you want to remember what love feels like? Because I know, I feel it… And you could too, but you just have to remember. If you feel nothing and don't remember anything, I won't ask again." Troy was extremely nervous at this point, it was up to Gabriella, and he wasn't going to force her against her will, he would push, but won't do it until granted permission.

"Yeah I do, but I just can't… It's hard to…" tears started to fall from her still swollen eyes again as she was overcome by emotion. He body was shaking slightly in his embrace.

"Trust me Gabriella." He spoke just loud enough for her to hear. She bit her bottom lip between her white teeth and looked into his deep passionate eyes; they were darker and filled with so much more emotion than she had ever seen on him. She wanted to know who she was, she wanted to feel loved. And he could do all that, all she had to do was open the gate and let him in. One little kiss, that's all he was asking for… not for sex or anything like that, just a kiss. She glanced down at his soft, pale pink lips and then back up at his eyes and nodded slowly.

Troy didn't smile, but took it as a yes. He placed his hand gently on her neck and took a deep breathe. He placed his forehead against hers tenderly, placing his lips millimeters from hers. He was more relieved that she had agreed than he was nervous. He pulled her torso close to his and held her tightly.

Gabriella's heart was racing, and she liked it.

**Well that was a lot quicker than the last chapter. XD I hope you guys enjoy this… the end it coming to fast for my liking, I'm gonna have to start deciding what to write next. I'm gonna miss this story when it's over. **

**Please review and tell me what you think. I'll try to keep up wth updates, and make them closer together for all of you guys! I love you all! **

**Oh, and she hasn't officially gotten back her memory, she has just pieced some things together and is trying to remember.**


	13. Remind Me

**Hey guys! I am really excited to see what you guys think of this chapter. So, please review... I want to hear the good and the bad ones; constructive criticism is always good :)!! Lol well read on my friends! **

_Do You Remember Chapter 13_

"Trust me Gabriella." He spoke just loud enough for her to hear. She bit her bottom lip between her white teeth and looked into his deep passionate eyes; they were darker and filled with so much more emotion than she had ever seen on him. She wanted to know who she was, she wanted to feel loved. And he could do all that, all she had to do was open the gate and let him in. One little kiss, that's all he was asking for… not for sex or anything like that, just a kiss. She glanced down at his soft, pale pink lips and then back up at his eyes and nodded slowly.

Troy didn't smile, but took it as a yes. He placed his hand gently on her neck and took a deep breathe. He placed his forehead against hers tenderly, his lips now millimeters from hers. He was more relieved that she had agreed than he was nervous. He pulled her torso close to his and held her tightly.

Gabriella's heart was racing, and she liked it.

"Relax baby, don't think about it, just do what you feel. Let your heart guide you." He whispered almost touching her lips. She nodded a little, almost bursting from all of the anticipation that was building up. The warm air of his breathe was meeting her skin blissfully, causing her eyes to close. He trailed his thumb across her bottom lip slowly, glancing down at the soft, pale skin. She was almost positive that he was trying to kill her, she couldn't handle the force that was pounding on her from all directions as his palm ran down her side and his other hand caressed her neck.

"Kiss me Troy." Gabriella spoke extremely softly with a crack in her voice, her throat was completely dry, and she couldn't handle the heavy atmosphere any more. She opened herself completely to him, sitting vulnerable right in front of him. The walls were down and there was no going back from this point. He bore into her eyes once more before lightly letting his lips brush up against hers.

Fire shot through her body as his lips made contact with hers, her blood was boiling uncontrollably with each caress of her tender skin with his hands. He kissed the corner of her mouth tenderly and moved slowly back on her jaw line. Gabriella let a small moan pass through her throat, and parted her lips a little. Troy took this opportunity to lightly grab her bottom lip between his teeth and tug gently. She cupped her hands delicately on his neck and sat up on her knees a little so that she was higher than him. He moved both hands to the back of her thighs and pulled her a little closer to him. He released her bottom lip and kissed her again, but this time he ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter.

All of the built up need and longing was going to come out in this kiss. He couldn't hold it in anymore now that he was actually touching her and kissing her. He was trying to fill the hole in his heart that the past few months had created, but attempted to still shield what was still un-shattered. His tongue slid into her open mouth a little and explored what he had been missing for so long at this point. She moaned once again into the kiss followed by one coming from his throat too.

She still had her eyes closed as he pulled his tongue back out of her mouth and sucked on her lips once again. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pressed her body closer to him. He was without a doubt the best kisser on the face of the planet. He trailed from her lips once again along her jaw line back towards her ear. He left open mouth kisses on her golden skin before once again diverted his path to her neck, stopping and lightly sucking on parts of her sweet skin. He knew exactly where to stop and make contact, causing Gabriella to close her eyes and let the feelings take over…

-----

_Gabriella was laughing uncontrollably as he threw her onto the bed and climbed on top of her, letting his weight rest on her petite frame. His lips immediately found the spot where they left off. He continued to trail the heated kisses down her jaw line and then to her neck. She let a moan escape her mouth as he worked the tender spot below her ear harshly. He placed his hands on her hips and began to move her tight red shirt up her stomach. _

_Gabriella turned her head to the side, allowing the person better access to the spot he knew too well. She opened her eyes and smiled at what she saw. She was in his room, the place that they had first kissed… and now it was going to be the place that he took her virginity. She was completely ready and trusted him completely with the one thing that she couldn't give to anyone else once he took it from her. It was the one thing that she could never get back, the keeper of her innocence, but she didn't want it anymore, she wanted him to have it. Her purity rested in his hands now. _

_The room had blue walls and white carpet with a white ceiling. The comforter under her back was black as well as the pillow beneath her head. There was a trophy sitting on the floor with an orange basketball next to it, and a desk littered with books and papers. There was a picture on the nightstand near her with a picture, she was in one, but the other person was blurry. She was clad in a pair of light destroyed jean shorts that were short enough to expose the white pocket in the front. They hugged the curve of her hips perfectly, and her top was covered by a tight red long sleeve shirt that had Bolton written across the back in white letters and the number 14 on the front…_

_-----_

Gabriella's eyes shot open, and her breathing was coming in short shallow breathes. She couldn't figure out what just happened, what did she just see? Her body was shaking a little and Troy moved his lips back to meet hers. He pulled back a little and looked into her eyes; but she saw clearly that Troy's were carrying hurt inside of them. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked breathlessly and leaned his forehead against hers. Gabriella thought that she was starting to remember something and she didn't want to loose it now. Not after all that had happened, she wasn't going to let this slip away. And if the way to keep getting back the memory was to keep kissing Troy, then she was going to do it. She shook her head slowly back and forth and connected their lips softly once again.

She could tell that he was holding back, not wanting to make himself too vulnerable. Gabriella started to pull back a little and brought him with her. She was going to try and recreate what was happening in her head and maybe it would come back. She lay back and pulled Troy over top of her, still holding the now heated connection between their lips. He was straddling over her waist and rested his weight on his elbows.

Gabriella ran her hand along his muscular arm until it met his hand above her head. She laced her fingers with his and brought his hand down to rest on her stomach. She then moved her shirt up a little so that his hand was on her bare torso. He stopped the kiss and looked into her eyes with confusion. "What are you doing Brie?" Her lips were now chapped and her hair sprawled on the bed underneath her.

Her voice was hoarse as she said, "I don't know… just kiss me, please." She said softly and who was he to deny her what she wanted. He leaned down and captured her lips once again in a soft kiss. She closed her eyes…

-----

_His strong hands pushed up the material of her shirt to under her chest, gaining him access to her toned stomach. He continued to work her neck relentlessly, definitely leaving his mark on her. She wasn't sure who the guy was, but he was wearing light destroyed jeans and a red semi-tight t-shirt with white writing on the front._

_Gabriella ran her hands down the back of this person, touching each muscle as it tensed under her finger tips. His hands were occupied drawing meaningless patterns against her torso, sending chills and shockwaves throughout her entire body. A distinct bulge was poking in her thigh as the guy gently pulled the shirt over her head, leaving her in a black lace bra and jean shorts. "You are so beautiful Brie."…_

_-----_

Gabriella's eyes snapped open again, this couldn't have been her imagination, the feelings that she was getting in the visions were so real. She hooked her arms under his and placed her hands on his back. She ran them down his muscular back, taking in all that was Troy. He moaned softly into her mouth as her hands continued down his back, burning his skin through the fabric of his t-shirt.

The hand of his that she had moved to her stomach was now rubbing small circles with the coarse thumb. He was touching her gently and stimulating the sensitive skin of her stomach. This caused the same electrifying feeling that she was experiencing in the memory that was taking over her vision. She grabbed his hand and moved it to the center of her stomach and dragged it softly across the skin. Troy understood what she wanted and started to draw imaginary pictures across the golden skin.

Gabriella moaned softly and lifted her hips a little off of the bed, meeting his hips above her own. He moved his arm under her lower back and held her against his lower region, the heat pulsating through both of their bodies. He moved to her neck and dragged his teeth along her skin tauntingly.

"Troy…" She whimpered and grabbed on to his neck and closed her eyes once again. The way that he knew exactly how to touch her and kiss her was an indication that they had done this before, he had touched her before. "Baby stop…" she whispered softly into his ear. Troy stopped his lips and let his head fall into the crook of her neck.

"Sorry… I…" Gabriella connected their lips again to shut him up. She thought that she had remembered something and she needed him to explain what was going on. She was pretty sure that Troy was the guy that she had seen in her vision, but was not positive.

"No, it wasn't you… I think that I might have remembered something, and I need you to explain what it was." He nodded and let her waist go, dropping her back to the bed softly. He sat back on his heels, still straddling over her legs. She sat up too and ran a hand through her messy hair, a look of confusion spreading over her delicate features.

"What is it Brie? Talk to me…" He pleaded and cupped her cheek softly, bringing her plump lips to meet his one more time. The same fire burst through her again, but he pulled back, giving her time to think about what she was going to say. He had called her Brie like the guy in the vision.

"I saw a room Troy, one that I can't remember seeing other that in this vision thing. I don't think that I have ever been there before." Gabriella ran her hand down his T-shirt clad chest, the muscles tensing as her hand trailed down them. He closed his eyes and held back a moan. He wanted more than anything to sink into her embrace again and kiss her until the end of the world.

He swallowed and shut his eyes tight. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, craving more of her. He got a taste, but wasn't satisfied with the small amount her got. With a strain in his voice he responded, "What did it look like? Explain it to me…"

"Well, there were blue walls, back comforter and pillows, a basketball… I don't know. Oh, and there was a trophy by the basketball and a desk with books. There was a picture on the nightstand of me and someone but it wasn't clear. God Troy, I can't do this anymore, I need to know…" Tears began to spill over her eyes again. Troy immediately brought her to his chest and kissed the top of her head.

"Shh baby, God I wish you knew how much I feel the same exact thing. I want you to remember everything that I do. How you made me go off with one touch, or just by being next to me, the first time that we had sex…" Troy's eyes shot open and his breath got stuck in his throat. That was it, he had made the connection. The trophy, the basketball, and comforter and pillows, they were things that were in his room. "You said that there was a basketball trophy in the room?" He was smiling uncontrollably now.

"Yeah…" she spoke in a barely audible voice again. Troy couldn't believe it; she was remembering the first time that they had sex. She reached up and wiped the tears that were beginning to dry on her cheeks. Troy placed his pointer finger under her chin and lifted it so that she was looking directly in his eyes. He glanced at her swollen lips and smiled, connecting the tender skin once again in a soft kiss.

He whispered softly against her lips, "I have an answer Gabriella, but you have to trust me." He studied her expression intently as she nodded and this time connected their lips. She let a few more tears fall and let him wipe them off.

"I trust you Troy." He smiled and stood up and trading his pajama pants for a pair of straight dark jeans before reaching out for her hands and pulling her up with him. He placed his hand on her lower back and led her back down to the kitchen so that she could put on her shoes and jacket. At the same time he pulled on his converse and waited by the door until she finished. She walked out and laced her fingers with his, showing that she was trusting him with her whole self.

The two got in the car, and Troy began the route to his house, where he lived with his parents during high school. There fingers were still interlocked with his, resting them both on her thigh. After a few minutes, Troy pulled into the driveway of a house that was unfamiliar to her. He looked at her and offered a small smile before opening the door and getting out. She followed his lead and got out too. The pair walked up the stone path to the front door. How were they supposed to get into a house where neither of them had been before?

But, when they reached the front door, Troy pulled out his keys and found the one that matched the lock. Gabriella furrowed her brow and watched as he pushed open the door and stepped inside. "My parents aren't home this week. I think they went to California." This was Troy's house; this was the house that Troy had grown up in. She stepped inside and looked around as Troy closed the front door behind her.

"This is your house?" She asked timidly.

"Yeah, it's my parent's house, but I still have a key." She smiled a little and crossed her arms over her stomach again. He wished that she would stop doing that. "I want to show you something." He was nervous and she could tell. But, she nodded and followed him up the stairs. He stood outside of the door and faced her, looking over Gabriella's features.

"I can't wait anymore Troy, just show me okay, I can handle it." She said being stronger than she knew that she was. She was on the brink of another break down and knew that if she waited any longer, it was going to end messy. He nodded a little and opened the door. She stepped in the room on stopped dead in her tracks. It was like someone was in her head taking pictures, and then made a room that was exactly like the one that she saw. Though, the trophy was on a shelf and some things were in different places, the bed was the same and the walls and there was the picture that she saw. But in this one, the other person besides her was clearly Troy. "Is this…" She asked choking back tears again.

"Yeah Gabs, it's my room." He said and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. He was nervous to find out what her reaction was going to be. She could either be extremely happy, or extremely sad and confused. She turned to him, her brow furrowed together and her eyes confused.

"In the vision Troy, I think that I was about to have sex." Her face turned a shade of pink as he looked over her, and she looked over him. Could he be the one that was haunting her thoughts day and night? She walked over and timidly reached her hand up to the hair that was falling in his eyes, and brushed it away. She bore deep into his eyes, the deep vast ocean that was staring back at her was the same that she had seen during one of the sessions at the doctor's office. And his body was the same height and build of the faceless guy that she had seen in the dream in the tree house. "Troy…" she breathed out in a voice quieter than a mouse.

"This is the place that I took you for the first time. You gave me your virginity after the Wildcats won the championship our junior year." Gabriella stepped a little closer, and he lowered his voice a little. "You told me before the game that I was going to finally get to love you in the most intimate of ways, and baby I played the best game of my life." He smiled and a small one came to her lips too.

"Troy…" she breathed out under her breathe again.

"What?" he asked and studied her expression on her golden skin.

Still in a quiet tone, she answered him, "Remind me Troy; make me remember what it feels like to make love to you." She stood on her tip toes and brought her lips softly to meet his. He wrapped his arms around her lower back and worked one into her hair before slowly backing her up to his bed.

"Are you positive?" he mumbled against her lips at the edge of the bed. She nodded and he smiled a little, this was it, she was starting to trust him. He gently let her fall back onto the bed and pulled his shirt off before going to hover above her body. "If you only knew how much I have waited for you to say those words…" he captured her lips again, softly but with so much meaning behind the connection.

Gabriella ran her hands from his sculpted abs up across his pectorals, and over his muscled shoulders to clasp behind his neck. Her eyes opened wide as Troy slowly began to make his way down her neck with kisses. His left arm was supporting his weight, not wanting to crush her, and his right hand was slowly pushing up the material of her shirt. She was moaning softly as he would stop in the perfect places, but she had to know something. "Troy… stop…" She breathlessly ordered as his hips were grinding against hers. He let his head fall into the crook of her neck as he reluctantly stopped his motions for the second time that night.

"Fuck Gabi, I'm sorry… God I just haven't touched you since Florida, I didn't…" he trailed his lips across her collarbone softly and rested his head again, trying to calm himself down. He shifted so that all his weight was held by his elbows and knees, still hovering over her small figure.

She didn't say anything but instead ran her fingers over the black ink that was permanently marked on his golden skin above his pectoral. She knew that she had seen it before and remembered where. She reached down before both of their bodies and unbuttoned her jeans, pulling one of the flaps down and revealing the same pattern printed on her skin, only much smaller. "Troy?" she asked and looked up into his eyes. He looked down at the ink on her skin and sighed.

He closed his cerulean eyes and gently let his lower body rest on hers. "We got them on your eighteenth birthday when we both legally could without parental consent. They were for me, it means strength. I used to be into drugs, but you helped me baby. I've been sober since we got them. Though the past few months have been a test, but I knew that you would be really disappointed that I went back if you ever remembered me. That was the only thing that was pulling me back from returning to them." She gently placed her hand on his check causing him to open his eyes.

"I just wanted to know, I'm not saying that I don't want you to make love to me." She smiled a little as his eyes became happy again. He crashed his lips back down on hers and continued where they left off. He pulled her shirt over her head leaving her in her jeans and her white lace bra.

"You are the most beautiful women in the entire world Gabriella, and I'm never going to let you forget it." With that he continued to undress her and himself until he was completely naked under the blanket still over her, and she had on only her white lace panties that matched the bra. "Are you sure you want me to?" he asked. "If I take these off you, I'm not gonna be able to stop myself. Self control is out the window."

"Troy, god, stop tempting me!" She moaned out and arched her back before grabbing his hands and forcing him to take off the offending material. He smiled and met her bruised lips once again in a heated kiss. He released her lips and reached over the side of the bed to get a condom out of his wallet. He came back up and was about to open the package. "God no Troy, I want to feel just you. Don't even dare put that on baby." He smiled and dropped the package over the side of the bed.

"This is it..." He smiled and pressed the tip of his erection against her swollen folds. "I love you Gabriella." He whispered into her ear as he pushed his length into her cavern. Her head flew back and her back arched as a moan erupted through her lips. Fire spread through her whole body, and she could hear the blood rushing past her ears. Her nails dug into his back and stars clouded her vision…

**I'm actually really nervous about posting this now that I am done writing it… It is, as they call it, a suicide chapter. I want to post it but not sure of what people's reactions will be. I got over 20 reviews on the last chapter, let's try and break that!!**

**This isn't exactly how I pictured this chapter, but it was hard to put in words… I'm not sure how I feel anymore lol! Haha…**

**Well, I love all of you and once again thank you so much for staying with me. :)**


	14. Okay

**Thanks you all for the positive feedback on the last chapter and this story as a whole… It was my first real story and I'm happy that everyone likes it as much as I do… Well this is the second to last chapter, and I hope that you enjoy it! Please Review, let's try and break 200!!! Lol**

_Do You Remember Chapter 14_

The scent of sex lingered in the air as Gabriella woke up the next morning, not exactly sure where she was. It was dark in the room, but it was better that way. It felt as if she was wrapped from head to toe with a winter blanket, but in reality, she was completely and utterly naked. It was then that she remembered of the previous night's events. She had intended to go to Troy's house and talk to him about who knows what, but instead she ended up at his parents' house having sex in his old room. It was definitely not what she had expected, but an amazing night none the less. It was a night that she would not trade back for anything.

They were now lying in compete silence, only the even breathing of a sleeping Troy and the sound of the wind passing through the trees and hitting the house could be heard. It was as if the two of them were in their own little bubble where nothing could go wrong, completely sheltered from the outside world. She only now became aware of the intimate position that was being performed by the two of them.

Her back was to Troy, and his chest was flush against it. His arm was around her waist, and his face was buried into her mess of hair behind her. The sheets were over both of them, tucked under his protective arm, but not concealing the golden, smooth skin of her legs. She was almost afraid to move, fearing that she would wake up the sleeping god next to her. He had mustered the strength to bring her to climax three times last night, and she knew that he had to be completely sore and tired from the activities.

Gabriella thought back to last night and how he had brought her to such a high every time that he touched her. She was angry at herself for not remembering him because she had missed almost three months of amazing sex with him. Though things were still unclear, Gabriella knew for a fact that Troy was the one that she was going to spend her life with. She had felt completely relaxed with Troy despite being entirely exposed in front of him, clearly a sign that he had seen her before in this manner.

She was brought out of her thoughts by Troy suddenly taking a deeper breathe, and his arm tightening around her small torso a little. Her stomach flipped because she knew that she would have to face him when he woke from sleeping, the embarrassment of her actions towards him would fill her mind, leaving her unable to refrain herself from blushing.

She slowly turned her head so that she could see his face, and settled back down on her back, his arm still outstretched across her stomach being covered by the sheets. She smiled at the calm and relaxed visage that now covered his golden cheeks, something that had been missing every time that she had seen him before last night. The pain and the hurt weren't visible on his peaceful face anymore. Gabriella lifted her arm and gently ran her fingers down his cheek, making her way to his neck very softly. She was slowly bringing him out of his restful slumber.

His eyes opened slowly, flashing a bright aqua, the lightest she could remember ever seeing his eyes. Usually they were dark and hurt, but now they were carefree and vibrant. He offered her a small smile and propped himself up on his elbow, looking down over her while running a hand through his hair.

"Morning…" Gabriella whispered and a rosy blush spread onto her face, the embarrassment starting to get the most of her. Troy smiled more and leaned down to connect their lips again, but this time a lot gentler than the previous heated kisses of the night before. It didn't last as long either but her body reacted in the same way.

"How do you feel?" he asked looking over her face, searching for any sign of regret written, but there was nothing to be found because Gabriella didn't regret a single thing that happened between the two of them. Truth be told, Gabriella didn't know how she felt. There was so much running through her brain that it was hard to focus in one feeling at a time. She felt loved, happy, sexy, embarrassed in a good way, and overwhelmed all at the same time.

But there was one thing that was for sure, "I feel really really good." A huge smile broke out on his face, and she giggled a little. His hand caressed her neck lovingly and his thumb traced her bottom lip, craving the taste of her. "I…" she bore deep into his eyes and took a deep breathe. "I don't remember everything, just the fact that I was meant to be with you. I love you Troy Alexander Bolton, and I don't understand why I didn't see it before. I want you to be there every step of the way while I'm healing, and I never want to leave your side again." She smiled and kissed him softy.

"That can be arranged." Troy responded in a barely audible whisper. "I love you too Gabriella Michelle Montez, you are my strength." He kissed her again placing his hand on her hip where he knew the black ink was marked on her skin, and this time straddled over her small body, deepening the kiss, similar to the ones of the previous night. She hooked one of her legs around his and moaned into the kiss softly. He smiled into her lips and broke away to taste the sweet skin of her neck once again.

Now the only thing that either of the two lovers heard was the heavy breathing and light moans of the other. The heat was growing again in each of their bodies with each caress and kiss. Gabriella pushed her hips up to meet Troy's and he held her there, never wanting to experience life without the feeling her beneath his fingers again. Everything was perfect, until…

"Yo Hoops! I know you're all fucking pissed at the wor…" Chad threw the door open and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Troy hovering over a girl, one that he couldn't see the face of. "Shit.. I'm sorry!" Chad took in the scene before him and shook his head at Troy disappointed.

Gabriella blushed and whispered, "Oh my god…" before pulling the covers over her head, blocking her completely from view. Her face was burning from embarrassment, but Troy was standing his ground, defending her.

"Troy, I know that it has been like three months since Gabs… you know, lost her memory… but she's not gonna be okay with you fucking around with another girl. What the hell were you thinking?" Chad practically yelled at Troy, who just smiled and let his head fall to look at Gabriella's curled up figure beneath his sheets. If he only knew that the goddess that he spoke of was beneath his fingers right now.

"I didn't fuck around Chad…" Troy smiled at his best friend, hoping that he got what he was saying. Chad looked at him confused before a light bulb went on above his head. A smirk crept onto Chad's lips and he pointed at the mound next to Troy on the bed.

"Are you trying to say that that is who I think it is?" he said and an even larger smile came onto Chad's face. Troy was finally getting what he wanted after a really long wait, and Chad couldn't be happier for him. Though, the current situation was a little embarrassing for all of them. An awkward silence overcame the room, but the sound of stilettos making their way down the hallway meant that they were not going to be alone much longer.

Just as expected, Sharpay entered the room loudly, "TROY! Get your ass out of bed and stop mop…" she was stopped mid sentence as well similarly to Chad. She stood like a deer in headlights taking in the scene around her. She looked at Troy, to the women's clothes on the floor, to the mound under Troy's blankets, and then back at him. "Tell me you didn't have sex with another woman that isn't Gabriella Troy, if you did, you are eternally shunned from my life and everyone else in the gang. I want nothing to do with you anymore…" tears were starting to form in her eyes as she spoke. How could Troy betray her best friend like that, she was going to marry him?

"Sharpay, I didn't fucking sleep with another woman, I slept with Gabriella okay! Why don't you just text everyone and say Troy had Sex with Gabriella, better yet, invite them all into my fucking room so they can have a front row seat, I mean everyone else is already here, might as well throw a party." Troy was angry that the two of them barged into his house unannounced and burst the bubble the he and Gabriella had made together the previous night. "Wait, how did you even get in my house?" he asked and looked at his two friends standing in his room.

"Well, I know where the key is dude, your parents bought the fake rock that you put it under when we were in middle school in case you forgot your key, but I didn't need it, the door was already unlocked when we got here." Troy brought his hand to his forehead and swore under his breathe. Last night he had forgotten to lock the door when he closed it. There was so much going on in his head at the time.

"Shit, I forgot to lock it last night." Lays back down and puts his hands on his head.

"That's bad man, what if I was some crazy psycho killer, and not my awesome self?" Chad smiled and sat on Troy's desk, picking up a basketball and twirling it on his finger. Troy looked at him in disbelief, how could his best friend be such an imbecile?

"Chad, what the fuck are you doing?" Troy sat up again, looking at Chad's confused expression. "Get out!" he practically yelled, annoyed that Chad wouldn't even consider the fact that both he and Gabriella were completely naked in the same room as him. Chad looked at Troy confused again and still pondered the thought.

"Come on Chad, Troy wants to be alone with his woman… Call me later Gabs." She smiled and pulled Chad through the bedroom door, closing it behind her. A lightbulb went on above Chad's head and he laughed at the thought. Troy looks at the heap below his sheets and smiled. He placed his hand on the hem of the soft material and slowly uncovered an embarrassed Gabriella, stopping short of uncovering her chest.

"Oh my God, they're all going to think that I am a slut. God what am I going to do?" Gabriella panicked and placed her hands on her forehead. Troy just laughed a little and scooted back against the head board. "Troy! It's not funny! I'm a fucking slut!" he continued to smile, but stopped laughing.

"Gabriella, you are the farthest thing from a slut that anyone could be. Couples have sex, and if the girl is as beautiful as you, then they have a lot of sex." Gabriella blushed and Troy smiled, he looked down at her swollen lips, and kissed them softly. Gabriella returned it just as gently and cupped his cheek.

She pulled away and smiled, "And it doesn't hurt that you are so incredibly sexy too." Troy smiled as Gabriella pecked his lips again. She swung her leg over his lap and straddled him. Troy clasped his hands together behind her back and held her close to him, loving the newly felt freedom that he had with her. There were no restrictions on how he could touch her or talk to her anymore, she was finally his again.

"Gabriella?" he spoke against her lips and she opened her eyes to meet his, only a small distance separated the two. Her deep brown eyes bore into his light cobalt eyes, taking in all of the relief that were buried in them.

"I'm sorry Troy, I hurt you so much. I've never seen, or can't remember, ever seeing you're eyes this light." Gabriella ran her hand down his neck gently and rested it on his shoulder. He kept the emotionless expression on his face although he wanted to jump for joy. There was something that was still left undone and he wanted to close it. "What can I do? How can I make it up to you?" She spoke and wrapped both of her arms around his neck.

"Nothing, I just want you to be here with me. That's all I want." He smiled but she shook her head slowly back and forth, a strand of hair falling into her eyes. He released one of his arms and tucked the stray hair behind her ears. Her brow was furrowed and she was thinking about something.

"That's not enough Troy, I hurt you everyday for three whole months, I owe you something! Tell me what to do…" tears were filling her eyes as guilt built up in her petite body. She had pushed him away when he was the one that she loved, but he never once lost hope that she would remember. How was she deserving of him?

"But it is enough Gabriella, I just want you next to me, nothing more and nothing less…" he ran his hands down her sides comfortingly, he could see that she was upset and wanted to make her happy.

"At least yell at me or something. Ignore me, scream at me, hit me… Just show me the pain that I caused you, show me how much it hurt." Tears broke the barrier of her eyes and rolled down her golden cheeks, staining her perfect face. His heart broke at the thought of hurting her in any way weather it be physical or emotional.

"Gabriella, don't even ask me to do that. I will _never_ lay a hand on you to cause pain. I will _never_ purposely upset you. I will _never_ get any satisfaction out of causing you pain because you caused me pain. I will _never_ want to do any of that stuff and if I do, then kill me because I wouldn't deserve you. Listen to me, I don't need anything but you, okay? Just you…" Troy's eyes were now tearing too, just thinking about hurting her made his gut wrench and his heart break.

"Troy please, I need to do something for you…" Troy closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headboard. What didn't she understand about the fact that he didn't need anything but her? She laid her head against his chest and he felt the hot water from her eyes drip onto his naked torso. He dug his fingers into hair and took a deep breathe. "Please…"

"Marry me Gabriella." Troy spoke into her hair and felt her body relax into his. "That's what I want, only you and me forever. No more pain, no more hurt…" Gabriella didn't back away from him, she didn't object right away, she didn't say no. He had a chance, this was it, he probably should have waited awhile but it was the only thing on his mind. He needed to know that she was willing to commit to him and trust him.

She lifted up her head and gazed into his mesmerizing eyes for the umpteenth time that morning, captivated by the intensity of his stare. He wasn't kidding, this is what he wanted her to do. There was only complete and utter seriousness on his face, hope filled the areas in his eyes that were previously filled with hurt and anguish. She slowly and hesitantly brought her lips to meet his in a slow gentle kiss.

A pang of hurt filled Troy's stomach. He got the feeling that she was going to reject his only want, is one desire. The intensity of the kiss felt to him that she was getting all that her body craved out of this last kiss so that when she said no, she would have enough to last her until the next man came along. Knowing this, Troy pulled her body closer to his on his lap and memorized every curve of her body, every inch of her hair, every taste of her tongue.

She pulled back and emptiness filled his body. A wave of coldness surrounded his naked figure, he felt alone. His eyes opened to see Gabriella with hers still shut, not able to see what she was thinking. Then, her lashes fluttered upwards and a small smiled made its appearance on her lips. Her eyes were shining, and she threaded her fingers into the hair at the base of his neck.

She glanced into his azure gaze quickly once again and moved her head forward so that he lips were at his ear. She kissed his neck right below his ear, her lips lingering for what seemed like an eternity before whispering, "Okay". Shock overcame his body and his blood began to boil. A giant smile took over his lips, his eyes becoming lighter and clearer as every moment passed. He was going to marry her, she had said yes.

Troy wrapped his arms around her body and flipped her so that she was lying with her back on the bed. He hovered over her and connected their lips again, though this kiss containing a lot more lust and a lot less control. He kissed down her jaw line, down her neck, followed by a series of kisses leading between her breasts and down her stomach to land on her tattoo. Her head moved backwards into the pillow as his tongue darted out between his lips to taste the skin holding the black ink. Her hips rose up off the bed in want of his body, but he pushed them back down, focusing only on the printed picture. After he was done attending to the now raw skin, he moved back up to her lips smiling.

"God I love you!" He pushed his arm under her head and separated her legs with his knee.

"Go slow okay, I want to make it last." She looked up at him with glistening eyes and a smile spread across her plump lips. She touched his tattoo tenderly and moved her arms to around his neck. He affectionately leaned down and attached his lips to her neck, lightly sucking where he knew she loved it. He then moved up her neck to her ear and lightly grabbed her earlobe between his teeth and whispered into her ear.

"Anything for Mrs. Bolton..." She giggled a little and he slowly entered her warm core, letting himself sink into her completely…

* * *

The two pulled up to Gabriella's parent's house, the nerves filling up both of their bodies. Gabriella stepped to the door with Troy right behind her, casually but lovingly letting his hands rest on both of her hips, offering support without words. She pushed the orange lit button and heard the familiar ring echo through the house. A pair of feet was heard and the light was turned on in the entrance way. Both Troy and Gabriella took in a big gulp of air and held it there, awaiting the opening of the door.

Light flooded out onto the two lovers and Gabriella squinted, adjusting her eyes from the darkness outside to the brightness inside. "Gabriella???" Her mother exclaimed questioningly. "Hija!" Maria's face lit up, previously being clearly stained with tears. "I am so happy! I thought that you died or something. Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? Me and you're father have been a mess…"

"Mom I…" Gabriella pushed Troy's hands off of her hips gently and stepped forward into the embrace of her mother. Mother and daughter cried into each other and comforted each other. Troy wasn't hurt by her leaving him, but happy that she was able to be close to her mom. She was going through a tough time and she needed her mom to fall back on if Troy wasn't able to help her with some things. "I'm sorry… I just had some things that I needed to do by myself."

It was then that Maria looked over her daughter's shoulder and saw Troy standing there. She pulled back and looked at Gabriella and then Troy, and back and forth between the two a couple more times. A huge smile appeared on her lips as a realization hit her. "You went to him… You let him in Gaby… You trusted him… Thank you hija, thank you." She brought her hand up to her lips and tears of joy fell out of her eyes. Troy stepped up behind Gabriella and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist.

"Mommy, I'm marrying Troy. And I couldn't be happier." Gabriella spilt to her mother and more tears fell from Maria's eyes.

"Troy I told you that she would come around. Wait here…" Maria turned around and left Troy and Gabriella alone in the entrance to their house. He turned her face and kissed her softly before breaking away and laughing a little.

"Way to wait for your dad. I thought we were telling them together?" Gabriella giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"Sorry" she smiled and pecked his lips lightly again.

"I forgive you." He smiled and was about to kiss her again but Maria walked back into the room carrying a small black box. Troy immediately recognized it and smiled. He took the box from her hands and smiled. "Thanks."

"I thought it would help. I'm so happy for you two. This is a really big day." They both smiled and Troy opened the small box, taking the ring out and holding it in his hands. He took her left hand and slipped the ring on her finger while looking into her eyes. She immediately jumped up into Troy's arms smiling uncontrollably. He smiled and swung her around, placing her back down on the ground and kissing her fully on the lips.

Later that night, they were all sitting in the living room, Maria was on the couch sitting next to her husband, and Troy was sitting on the floor with his knees up and Gabriella between his legs leaning back against his chest. "So, umm… me and Troy decided that I am going to go live with Troy if that's okay with you guys." Instead of being angry or sad, Maria was happy. Not for the fact that she was leaving, but because she knew that Gabriella would be a lot happier living there and also she would be in good hands with Troy.

"That's fine with me baby, and your dad too. I can't believe that this is finally happening. But, could you two stay here for a couple nights or just tonight at least, I don't want you to leave just yet." Maria asked and held her husband's hand who was actually smiling at the pair on the floor. "I'm not going to separate you, but please no sex tonight; I don't want to hear that."

"MOM!" Gabriella burst out laughing and covered her face. Her face turned hot and a deep blush covered her visage. Talking about her sex life with her parents was not something she wished to do, especially when her boyfriend/fiancée was sitting right behind her.

"I'm not even going to pretend that you two don't do that, because it would be a lie. A mother knows when her daughter gives herself away. And let me just say, I'm glad it was you Troy, I trust you with my daughter." Maria was so overwhelmed with joy that she didn't care how uncomfortable Gabriella was with the situation.

"Uh thanks I guess…" Troy said and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink too.

"Okay mom, we're done, I'm going to pack some of my stuff from my room." Maria nodded and her and Troy got up off the floor and went up to her room. Once inside, she shut the door and lay down on her bed. "Oh my god that was so embarrassing." Troy lay down beside her while laughing.

"Yeah, it's not supposed to get to the girls mom when you take her virginity. Usually they like ban you from ever seeing the girl again, because the guy is the one that stole their daughter's purity." He laughed again. "I don't think she actually knew Gabs, she just assumed that it was me." Gabriella sighed and giggled a little.

"I hope your right."

The two continued to talk for awhile before falling asleep. Maria walked up to her daughter's bedroom around midnight and didn't hear any noise. She opened the door slowly and smiled at the scene in front of her, reminding her of when she and her husband we young and in love. Gabriella's shirt was pushed up to under her chest, and Troy's arm was around her waist on the bare skin. Their bodies were flush against each other and both of them looked so peaceful, finally able to be together.

If there was one thing that Maria was certain of, it was that the love shared between Troy and her daughter was going to last forever.

**Hey guys, I had a lot of this chapter done a long time ago, probably like a week after the last post, but I just got really busy with Thanksgiving coming up and a lot of other things… So sorry about the late post again. **

**There is only one more planned chapter to this story and I hope you guys like it! Thanks so much for sticking with me, and for all the awesome reviews.. they make me want to write more and more just to see what you'll say! **

**I LOVE all of you!!!**


	15. Always Be My Baby

**Well this is it… the chapter that you all have been waiting for, the final one to wrap it all up. And speaking of waiting, it has been a really long time since I updated and I am so sorry. Things just got really crazy and I honestly didn't have the passion to finish this. I kind of didn't want to write it because that would mean that I was done, which would be weird. Haha. But I have a few ideas in mind that I am debating on which one to write, sorry but you can't get rid of me that easily. Well have fun reading, I hope you all like it.**

_Do You Remember Chapter 15_

The beat pulsated through the air of the packed nightclub; so many people were present making the air hot and damp. The bass was pumping at the same pace as the hearts of everyone there, especially two certain people. In the center of the dance floor was the star couple of the night, Gabriella and Troy. Although having a night of dancing and drinks out on the town in a club with friends was typical for a bachelor or a baccalaureate party, it was unusual that the future bride and groom were both there together.

Gabriella had insisted that Troy needed his last night to go to a strip club and get all of his nasty fantasies taken care of before they were officially together. She had looked down saddened by the fact that he didn't respond and she assumed that he still wanted all of the dirty strippers to dance on him. But her thoughts and threatening tears were pushed to the back of her mind when Troy slid his arms around her from behind and lightly grabbed onto her earlobe with his teeth, knowing that she loved it when he did this. She leaned back into his powerful chest as he released her ear and peppered kisses along her golden neck, huskily whispering into her ear, "The only person that I want dancing on me is you baby, I would only think about you the whole time." Gabriella's whole body shivered as goose bumps appeared on her skin, instantly causing her figure to melt even further into his body.

"Really?" She looked up into his eyes and he smiled and let his lips linger over hers for a short while and murmured against them his reply.

"Really…" She spun around in his embrace and met his lips fully before her cupped her ass and lifted her up so that her legs wrapped securely around his waist and her arms around his neck without breaking their heated kiss.

That discussion had ended in their bedroom with a long night of making love, and eventually they came to the decision that they would just have a party together where they could just relish in each others embrace. This brought them to where they were now, in the center of the dance floor sweating and completely oblivious to the people around them.

Troy's hands had undone the button of Gabriella's short black shorts and were now rubbing her hips underneath the strap of her lacy pink lingerie, slowly inching towards her core. Her shirt was up above her belly button, revealing the tight golden skin of her stomach, a part of her that Troy loved to touch and kiss. He could here her constant moans escaping her mouth, but going unnoticed by the people around them. It was way too crowded and everyone was too drunk to notice anything going on between the two.

Gabriella had refused to drink telling Troy that she wanted to remember the night, and he didn't think anything of it, agreeing to stay sober with her. Her hands were now resting on the back of Troy's neck, toying with the little hairs that were there. The song turned to _Russian Roulette_ by Rihanna and Gabriella's and Troy's bodies slowed down into a slower grind, becoming even more aware of what the other was doing. Gabriella could clearly feel how turned on Troy was, his hardened member poking into her ass. She closed her eyes and traced his arm down to her stomach. She pushed it a little further towards her core and pressed his fingers into her warmth. He grunted into her neck and immediately placed kisses into the heated skin. She could feel the sweat dripping down her back, and the fire spread through her body as Troy continued the pressure on her most intimate part. "I love you Troy." Her raspy voice came through her throat as she laid her head back on his shoulder, closing her eyes and focusing on only the fluid movements of Troy's body behind hers.

"God you are amazing baby, I love you so much." He peppered more kisses on her sticky skin and removed his hand from her warmth. He buttoned her shorts and pulled her tighter into his groin, loving the feeling of her on his body. He moved one hand in the middle of her pelvis and held her against him while the other gently turned her face and captured her lips with his. "Will anyone notice if we leave?" he asked closing his eyes, becoming completely aware of how hard he was and how much he needed her right then.

"I don't know, but I need you baby." Her eyes were black, passion radiating from every pore in her body. She turned around, the cold air instantly hitting her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck, grinding on him from the front. He was wearing a black V-neck Tee and a pair of dark destroyed jeans with his converse. Her eyes moved up to meet his equally passionate eyes, the brightest color of Blue possible. She looked as his lips and connected the two of them in another deep kiss. "I don't give a fuck, let's get out of here." He grabbed her hand and guided her through the crowded club, eyeing down anyone that looked at her the wrong way. As soon as they left the club, the limo pulled up that was paid to take the two of them home. Troy opened the door and Gabriella slid in, followed by him quickly behind her.

The driver looked back at the two, "Where to?" Troy looked at Gabriella who shrugged her shoulders and laid her hand on Troy's lap, rubbing his aching member. Troy knew the plan was to just go back to their house, but he wanted something new. On impulse Troy decided that they were going to go a hotel to spend the night.

"The Mandarin Oriental" Gabriella looked at him confused. The driver nodded and closed the divider, this being the cue for Troy to pull Gabriella onto his lap and kiss her. She pulled back and ran her thumb along his lower lip. Her looked into her eyes and smiled a little.

"I thought we were going home." She asked and he smiled.

"Hotels are more fun, plus I want it to be perfect for you." She smiled at him and took his lips in hers once again. They both knew that it wouldn't go any further than heated making out in the limo, both thought that it was distasteful to have sex in the back of a limo; the driver didn't need to hear that. After about a twenty minute drive, the driver stopped and lowered the divider once again, informing the two that they have reached the destination. He got out of the car and opened the door, allowing the two lovers to get out of the car. Troy got his wallet and pulled out a twenty and handed it to him. The driver thanked him and shut the door.

"Would you like me to wait Sir?" The driver asked and looked at Troy who had already reconnected his hand with Gabriella's body. Troy smiled down at the woman in his arms and shook his head no. "Very well Mister Bolton, enjoy your evening."

"I think I will." With that, Troy turned and started to walk towards the entrance of the five star hotel. He opened the door for Gabriella and walked in, their hands connected. They walked towards the desk and all of the young girls working behind the counter started to whisper. He looked at Gabriella and gave her a reassuring smile before leaning down and kissing her fully showing the ladies that he was taken. They approached the desk, both ready for the coming night.

"Do you have a reservation sir?"

"No…" Troy wrapped his arms around Gabriella and kissed her temple. The girl smiled and told them to wait there for a minute. A few minutes later, she came out with a key in her hand.

"I'll be working tomorrow morning, see me then and you can pay for your room in the morning." She smiled sweetly and handed the key to Troy. He thanked them and turned to walk to the elevator. Gabriella and Troy heard awing sounds and she giggled a little bit waiting for the elevator to reach the lobby level. They got in and immediately found each other's lips.

* * *

It was quiet in the room as Troy and Gabriella lay silently looking out at the skyline of the busy city. They were both naked and completely comfortable under the soft comforter. Troy's face buried into her mess of deep brown hair and inhaled softly. He still couldn't believe that she was all his, after everything that they had been through, their loved had survived. It was still a struggle getting her to believe some things, but it was worth every minute with her.

"I can't wait to marry you Troy." Her soft voice filled his ears as he held her tighter against his body. "I want to see the world with you, and have children with you, and want every day to feel like I feel right now. Completely loved and fulfilled."

"I want to love you everyday, watch you learn and remember, and most of all I want you to be the mother of my children." He lifted himself up on his forearm and leaned over her, kissing her soundly. She smiled up at him and turned around and lay down on his chest, listening to his heart beat softly in his chest.

"Will you still love me when I get fat?" Troy scrunched his eyebrows together and looked down at her. She looked up and connected their gaze again.

"What are you talking about? I love you for you, not your body." He tangled his hand into her hair and tears formed in her eyes. "I'm going to marry you next week whether you look like this or you weighed three hundred pounds." She sat up next to him and wiped the tears from her eyes. He immediately sat up too and cupped her cheek in his hands, "Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me love"

She smiled a little and placed her hand on top of his and moved it down to her stomach. He looked at her confused. "Troy, I love you so much, you're perfect. They're not sad tears, they're happy tears." He looked at her and smiled.

"What's this all about Gabs?" He moved a little closer to her, her hand was still holding his hand on her stomach. "Why are you so happy?"

"I'm getting married next week to this amazing guy, and he won't mind when I get fat." She smiled again, giggling at the fact that Troy had still not picked up all of the hints that she was giving him.

"I'm still confused, what are you talking about? Why are you going to get fat?" Troy looked into her eyes as she giggled again, and then got really quiet as a blush spread across her cheeks.

"I'm going to get fat because I'm pregnant Troy." She smiled as she watched him look down at his hand on her stomach and then back at her eyes. A huge smile appeared on his lips as she smiled shyly back at him. He gently pushed her back on the bed and knelt between her legs, his elbows and forearms supporting his body right next to her hips. He leaned down and peppered kisses all along her golden stomach. She giggled as his lips trailed over her skin.

"Hey little baby… You don't know who I am, but you will. I'm gonna be your daddy." Gabriella instantly felt the tears well up in her eyes as she witnessed the amazing dad that Troy was going to become. She was merely a few weeks pregnant and he was already talking to her stomach like the baby was already alive and in his arms. "And your mommy is this amazing beautiful woman, she is so strong and I don't know how I got so lucky to have her as mine, but I did. This is the best day of my life and I can't wait to hold you in my arms. You're going to be surrounded by so much love and support…" Gabriella was full out crying and Troy looked up and smiled at her. He moved up to be even with her face, careful not to lie on her stomach, and kissed her fully.

"I love you so much Troy." She cupped his face and kissed him again.

"And for the record, you're not going to be fat, you're going to be beautiful." More tears came from her eyes as she kissed him again, letting him lay behind her and pull her into his embrace again, gently stroking her stomach. She placed her hand on top of his on her stomach and closed her eyes. This was the best night of her life too.

_The Night before the Wedding_

"God I can't stand being away from you." Troy sighed on the phone with Gabriella. It was bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, which meant that Troy was staying at Chad and Monique's house while Gabriella was in their house, in their bed. "I want to come home and see you." He closed his eyes and waited for her to yell at him.

"Don't even dare Troy; I will not put our marriage in jeopardy because you were horny. We've only been apart for five hours." She giggled and twirled a piece of dark hair around her finger. She turned her head to the side to look at Troy's side of the bed that was empty at the time being, even his pillow was absent because she was using it instead of hers.

"Well at lease tell me what you're wearing; I can paint a mental image." Gabriella laughed out loud put her arm above her head on the cool pillow. "Please baby… Do it for me."

Gabriella bit her lip and looked down at her body; there wasn't much to tell him. "Umm, well I have on your red wildcats T-shirt with the white writing and a black lace thong." A blush erupted on her cheeks even though he couldn't see her.

"God I wish I was there, I love it when you wear my shirts." He sighed again and closed his eyes, the need for sleep overcoming his tired body. She closed her eyes too, not saying anything into the phone. About a half hour passed and both of them were fighting sleep.

"Troy…" Gabriella whispered softly, not wanting to wake him up if he was already asleep.

"Yeah beautiful?" he responded and turned onto his side in the bed. He yawned and let it out slowly, fighting with every ounce of energy in his body to stay awake and talk to her.

"I'm gonna hang up okay, I'm about to fall asleep and I don't want to look tired tomorrow. I love you so much, and I can't wait to take your last name tomorrow." Gabriella smiled and though about how beautiful the ceremony was going to be.

"I love you too baby. I'll see you tomorrow, night baby girl. And tell our baby night for me." He smiled as he heard her talking to her stomach. Truth is, Troy couldn't wait to be a father, and it was so much better that it was with Gabriella. She told him to dream of her and he smiled, telling her that he did every night before hanging up the phone and letting himself fall into a deep slumber.

It was now noon and Gabriella had been up since eight, starting the preparation of getting ready for her wedding day. The ceremony was scheduled for four o'clock and the reception was in the ball room of a near by hotel. She had already gotten her hair done and had a massage to help her relax. She had just sat down in the chair to get her makeup done when there was a knock at the door. Gabriella turned her head and saw Taylor enter the room. She was carrying a bundle of roses in her arms that had a note attached to them. Gabriella squealed and ran over to Taylor, grabbing the flowers from her arms, opening the letter. Troy's messy handwriting covered the small white space.

_Gabriella,_

_I can't believe that the day is already here. I am the luckiest guy on the face of the earth, I get to marry you in a couple of hours and spend the rest of my life with you. I can't wait to see you walk down the isle, looking more beautiful than these flowers times a million. I wish I could kiss you right now, but I don't want to jinx anything so I guess I'll wait. See you soon gorgeous._

_Love,_

_Troy_

"Taylor, how did I get so lucky? He is too perfect." Tears were welling in her eyes, threatening to fall.

"Get it all out now honey, once the make up is done, no more tears." Both Taylor and Gabriella laughed and hugged each other. Gabriella sat down again, this time Sharpay walked in with a young woman, around thirty that Gabriella assumed was the make up artist. She introduced herself as Andrea, and immediately got to work on Gabriella's skin. She didn't want to look overly done, she wanted soft and glowing skin with shadowed eyes with highlights of gold. After the finished product, Gabriella was amazed and stood up, giving Andrea a hug.

"So most of the makeup is waterproof so you should be good with the tears." She smiled and informed the bride, Gabriella nodded and took a mental note of what Andrea informed her to do if she does start crying, how to fix it. She left and Sharpay walked in with two small boxes, which she assumed were from Troy.

"I've got presents Gabs!" she smiled and walked over to Sharpay, who was already ready in her bridesmaid dress. Gabriella took the small boxes in her hands and sat down. She pulled the envelope off of the top and read this one.

_This is a little something I found that I thought would look perfect on you. It's a preview of everything that I am going to buy for you once we're married. I'm going to get you whatever you want, and shower you with love and kisses all the time. Only a little bit longer baby, I love you so much!_

_Love,_

_Troy_

A huge smile was on Gabriella's face as she un-wrapped the first box, this one longer than the other. When she opened it, her jaw dropped when she saw a beautiful diamond necklace. She picked it up and watched as the light was reflected off the many shiny surfaces. She then opened the little box and found that it contained matching earrings. He was by far the best fiancé in the world. "Wait Shar, did you give Troy his present? That's why I sent you over there in the first place."

"Yes Gabi, I did. I'm not completely stupid." The girls laughed and Gabriella began to get undressed so that she could put on her dress and make sure that it was perfect.

_With Troy_

"Chad, I feel like I'm going to puke. What the fuck is wrong with me?" Troy was pacing back and force in the room where he was supposed to be getting dressed. He was wearing his black pants and his tuxedo shirt, but it was unbuttoned and wasn't tucked in. He was completely calm when he woke up this morning, but now he was a train wreck. He needed to see her or he was going to explode.

"Troy, relax man, you're marrying Gabs today, this is what you wanted for so long. Be happy." Chad tried to calm down the crumbling Troy, but it was as if Troy didn't even hear him. He kept walking back and forth wearing down the carpeted floor. Chad sighed and got up and left the room, he collided with Sharpay outside of the room. "Hey Shar, sorry. What's that?"

"This is a present for Troy, make sure he opens the card first." Sharpay giggled and handed the present to Chad.

"Okay, hold on a second, I'll give you the other present that he has for Gabriella." Sharpay nodded and waited in the hallway until Chad came out with the small boxes, and they traded and went back to their respected rooms. "Troy, this is for you." Troy turned around and smiled at the box that Chad was holding. "But you can't have it until you calm down."

"Shut the fuck up Danforth and give me the box." Troy playfully shoved his best friend on the shoulder and grabbed the box from his friend. Troy opened the letter and was met by her perfume. "God she smells amazing" and then thought to himself that she tastes even better, smiling to himself. He read her neat cursive with a smile on his lips.

_Hey babe,_

_I know that right now you're probably freaking out, and I am too, don't worry. But know that I love you so much and can't wait to be in your arms again, I can't wait to get back all of the memories that I'm missing and make many more with you and our baby in the future. Speaking of making memories, I want to make some tonight after everyone is gone and it's just you and I. This is a little preview of tonight, and make sure you open in by yourself. _

_Love,_

_Gabriella_

Troy set the letter down and told Chad to leave. Chad protested at first, but saw the look in Troy's eyes when he turned around and quickly dismissed himself from the room. Troy set the box down on the table and sat down. He pulled the bow away and slid the lid off of the off and saw a small digital camera. He picked it up and flicked the on switch, adjusting it so that it was on the view pictures setting.

He flicked through the pictures, each of them depicted Gabriella lying on their bed, in a white lingerie set, and Troy could feel his blood begin to boil and his member become harder with each picture that came up on the screen. The last one was taken from behind her and she had unclipped the clip to her bra, about to take it off, and was looking over her shoulder with a seductive glare. Troy closed his eyes and went through the pictures again. He stood up, placing the camera back in the box and opened the door to find Chad looking down at his phone. Chad turned around and found a smiling Troy.

"Dude! I'm getting married!" Troy exclaimed and hugged his friend. Troy was overcome with excitement and continued to get ready while Chad plopped down on the couch and continued to text who Troy assumed to be Taylor.

…

Gabriella stood at the entrance to the chapel, this was the day that she had dreamt of since she was a little girl. Her father was by her side, and all of her and Troy's friends were standing to her sides waiting for the music to start, cuing their entrance. As Gabriella stood nervously, the music flowed through the chapel into her ears. She took a deep breathe as her brother, Aden, hooked his arm with Gabriella's friend Kelsey and walked down the center isle. Next Sharpay and Zeke walked followed by Taylor and Chad, Gabriella's maid of honor and Troy's best man. It was almost time for Gabriella to walk down the isle, but not until Sarah and Zac walked down as ring bearer and flower girl. Once the two young ones were half way down the carpet, the the white petals from the flowers lying on the ground, all of their guests stood and turned to the back of the church to watch as Gabriella walked down the isle.

She took a deep breathe and looked over at her dad who held out his arm for her to take. Gabriella gratefully accepted and said, "I love you daddy." And she smiled up at him.

"And I you, hija. But I know you love Troy a lot more so go get him sweetheart." Gabriella smiled and took the first step towards the chapel. The doors opened, but she didn't see the carefully picked out flowers, the neatly tied bows, or the lace hangings on the pews. No, the only thing that she saw was Troy standing at the alter, completely in awe at the sight of her in her dress. It was simple, yet the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen. It was a white dress that hugged her torso tightly, and then flew away at the hips into the puffy bottom, classic of wedding dresses. There was black and lace detailing at the bottom hem, and at her chest. But Troy didn't realize that she was just as entranced with him as he was with her. She loved him with next to no clothes on, the beauty of his toned body always made her weak in the knees, but seeing him in a tux was breathtaking.

Then their eyes met, blue and brown coming together, and both broke out in a huge grin. Troy mouthed "I love you" and Gabriella blushed and looked down before meeting his eyes again and replying with a silent I love you more. He laughed a little and shifted his weight from foot to foot, eager to hold her again. Chad placed his hand on Troy's shoulder and squeezed it, comforting the nervous Troy.

Gabriella made it to the front of the church and her father turned to face her. He unveiled her face, and smiled down at his only daughter. "The Most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in." he leaned down and kissed his daughter on the cheek and smiled at her. "I am so proud of you hija for trusting him. Go make him the luckiest guy in the world." Gabriella laughed a little and kissed her father back on the cheeks before letting go of his hands and watched him take his seat next to her mother. Gabriella took the few steps to where Troy was standing and turned to face him. Taylor immediately stooped down and straightened out the back of Gabriella's dress on the ground, one of the many jobs of the maid of honor.

Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and brought it up to his lips slowly and kissed her hand softly and looked up at her eyes. Gabriella blushed and refrained herself from crashing into him and kissing him passionately in front of everyone. The priest started, but neither the groom nor bride was paying attention, both entranced with each other. The next thing they know, it was time to say their vows.

Troy took a deep breathe and looked into her eyes, not breaking the contact until he was done. "Gabriella, after thinking about this moment after you agreed to marry me and after trying to think how to put into words how I feel, I am now absolutely positive that there are no words in the English language that can describe how I feel about you. Nothing at all can describe how beautiful you look wake up with your hair all messy and your cheeks rosy from the warmth of the covers, nothing can described your laugh when I do something stupid, nothing can describe the hurt that I feel when your sick and I can't do anything about it, and most of all nothing can describe the way that I crave to be with you when I'm not. And I know that I will never have to have the last of those feelings again because I promise to be by your side from now until we grow old together." There were now tears in her eyes, not sure if she would be able to talk when it was her time. She blinked and the first tear rolled down her face. Troy immediately stepped forward and cupped her cheek softly and wiped away the free tear. "I'll be there to comfort you when you cry, and protect you when you're scared, and pull you back up when you're down. You are the most beautiful woman, and I can't wait to call you my wife." He slipped the ring onto her finger and kissed her hand again.

Gabriella looked up at him, more tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Troy gently took her hands in his, running his thumb along her knuckles encouraging her to speak. She took a deep breathe and began. "I want to start with I'm sorry. Over the last few months I know that it must have been really hard to watch me, not knowing how deep my feeling ran for you. I kept pushing you away, but not once did you completely give up on me. But now, I trust you with my life and I don't know why I didn't see that before. You make me feel beautiful, you're my rising sun and the place I run because you know how it hurts when you're apart form the one you love. You know me better than anyone in this room right now does. You know what I'm feeling when I don't say anything, and when you tell me that it's going to get better, I believe you. When I was at an all time low, you were always there for me picking me back up from the ground. And now that I can see you for who you are, and see me for what you do, I can't imagine how I'd make it through life without you there by my side. Because, Troy, there is no me without you." She slipped the ring onto his finger and squeezed his hand tightly.

Troy smiled down at her and wiped the rest of the tears that had fallen from her eyes during her speech. Then he looked out at all of the guests in the room, and there was barely a dry eye in the whole room. Troy felt that tears were going to pour out of his eyes too, but he swallowed them and stayed strong for Gabriella. The priest opened his book and began reading. "Do you Troy, take Gabriella, to be your wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

Troy smiled and nodded his head, "I do."

The priest continued and Gabriella smiled at Troy "Do you Gabriella, take Troy, to be your husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do you part?"

Gabriella smiled showing how happy she really was, "I do."

"By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Troy Bolton. You may now kiss the bride." Troy smiled and stepped forward, placing one hand on her hip and the other on the back of her neck. She wrapped both of her arms around his neck and their lips met. He slowly massaged her lips with his. The whole church stood and applauded the couple, but they didn't notice, too infatuated with one another notice. He parted her lips with his tongue and kissed her more intensely. After a few seconds, he pulled back and rested his forehead against her and smiled, taking one last smaller peck from her lips.

The couple proceeded out side of the church where all the people stood blowing bubbles that they handed to each guest. Gabriella laughed and clung to Troy's arm as they made their way to the limo to take them to the park to take photos.

_The Reception_

Everyone was seated at there assigned tables, the only one that was empty was that of the bridal party. The DJ made the announcement that they were on their way up, and everyone found their seats, the noise toned down to a light murmur. The doors opened and the DJ put on Do You Remember by Jay Sean and the whole wedding party came in dancing. They were done with being sad and emotional. Both Gabriella and Troy decided that they wanted to have a fun wedding, so they decided to come in laughing and making fools of themselves, making their way to the table to eat diner. They ate and Chad and Taylor each gave toasts to the new couple after. Chad's was less serious, talking about the fun times that Gabriella and Troy had gone through, making everyone in the room laugh. Taylor's on the other hand had focused on the more intimate and romantic side of the couple, bringing tears once again to everyone's eyes.

It was now time for the first dance; Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her to the center of the dance floor. He turned to her and ran his thumb across her cheek, and then her lips. She smiled and placed her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms completely around her small waist, bringing her completely against him. The DJ played the song that they had chosen for their first dance, _Always be my Baby _by David Cook. They rested their foreheads together and looked into each others eyes as they swayed back and forth to the slow song.

"This is perfect Troy." She said and kissed him softly. He smiled and squeezed her a little tighter to him. She laid her head in the crook of his neck, loving how they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

"I love you Gabriella." He plainly stated and rested his chin on the top of her head. Then, Troy heard clinking. He looked up at Chad who was hitting his knife against his glass smirking. Then more people began clinking their glasses too, meaning that they wanted them to kiss. Troy let go with one of his arms and lifted her chin up with his finger and kissed her lips fully. She smiled and kissed him back as the room broke out into applause.

The song ended and Troy's mother and Gabriella's father walked out onto the floor, ready to have their dance with their respecting children. Gabriella smiled as her father started dancing with her and as did Troy with his mother. Troy smiled at his mom and decided that she was going to be a good grandmother. After they had done all the dances with parents and in-laws, Troy was met in the middle again with Gabriella. "Hey beautiful." He smiled and glasses started clinking again. Troy looked up again and saw that Chad was the one that started it again. He shook his head and leaned down and kissed her again. "How about we make the announcement?"

"Okay, sounds good to me." She smiled and led him up to the bridal table that was raised above everyone else's and had mikes from the toasts. Troy saw Chad who was still eating and he went over to him.

"What's with all the clinking of glasses for man?" Troy questioned and Chad looked up at him smiling.

"I'm just so happy hoops! You're a marred man and should kiss her every chance you get." Troy smiled at Chad and then went back over to Gabriella who was holding the mike in her hand.

Troy took it and spoke into it. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Troy who had his hand around Gabriella's waist. The DJ stopped playing the music and full attention was on the happy couple. Troy looked at Gabriella who was glowing then back at the crowd. "We have an announcement, Baby do you want me to tell them, or you?" he spoke to her without the mike.

"You do it." She said softly and smiled.

"Well I just found out something last week, and I couldn't be happier. I'm gonna be a daddy." Troy smiled and heard gasps around the room. Then the room broke out into an excited applause and many hooting and whistling calls from their friends. Gabriella's mother and Troy's mother had found each other and were hugging and crying, happy that they were going to be grandmothers. Excitement filled the air and once again Troy heard clinking coming from his right. Chad was hitting his glass once again, but Troy had no exception to this, he wanted to kiss her for the rest of his life. He leaned down and brought her lips to his. His whole life was now in his arms and embrace.

"I can't wait for the rest of our lives, especially since it will be with you Mrs. Gabriella Bolton." She smiled and kissed him once more before replying.

"Me either. I love you so much. And I can't wait to have more kids with you daddy." They both smiled and kissed again, completely oblivious to the celebrations going on around them.

**Well, there it is. This is my longest chapter ever! It's over, and I'm sad but happy at the same time. I can't help but love every single one of you that has stuck with me through this story and leave such awesome reviews that aren't just like two words. You guys are why I keep writing and want to write, even if it does take me some time. Feel free to message me, I'll reply as soon as I can. I am working on another story, but I'm not sure when I'm going to post it.**

**There are a few pictures from this chapter posted to my profile, you can view them if you want. And if you listen to some of the songs that are playing during the chapter, I think it makes it better. :)**

**Once again thanks to each and every one of you, you don't know how much you guys mean to me. I never thought that I would get 10 reviews, let alone 200! So please, guys tell me what you think. **

**Keep an eye out for a new story sometime next year! :) And Happy Holidays and New Year everyone! **


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